%'mmiim 















I mmu OF CONGRESS, li 






|LI\1TE!) STATES OF AMERICA. | 



y FAMILY DIRECTORY: 



OR, 



FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE 

OF A 



PRACTICAL HOUSEKEEPER; 



WITH 



MANY VALUABLE HINTS 



ON 



HEALTH, FARMING, GARDENIN(}, FRUITS AND FLOWERS, 



jiuj 



SELECTED FROM THE BEST AUTHORS, 



BY 



Mes. AIS^ 0. OOX. 



-'' Vv^smnfi^^^ 



- COLUMBUS, O. 
FEINTED FOR THE AUTHOR. 
1867. 



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• 



Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1867, 

By Mrs. ANN C. COX, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for 
the Southern District of Ohio. 



KEVINS & MYEES, PRINTEES, COLUMBUS, O. 



TO THE 

YOUNG LADIES OF THE UNITED STATES 

THIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 
WITH THE SINCERE WISH THAT ITS CONTENTS MAT ENABLE THEM 

" To guide the House witli prudent care, 
"With judgment wise to spend, and spare ; 
And make their husbands bless the day, 
They gave their liberty away." 



ISTTRODUOTIOlf. 



Having from my youth a disposition to experiment and 
test whatever seemed desirable and plausible in house- 
keeping, I accumulated a large number of receipts, which, 
after testing, I preserved for future reference. 

The health and comfort of a family depend greatly on 
well-cooked and properly seasoned food, and regularity 
in eating, and are often destroyed for the want of it. 

There are already many books on the subject of cookery 
and house-keeping, yet few, if any of them, have been 
prepared and published from the experience of practical 
house-keepers; and many of them contain so many things 
not within the reach of persons in moderate circumstances, 
that they are laid aside as useless. 

Another objection to most cook books is the vast num- 
her of receipts given in one department: for instance, 
cakes and puddings, (some having over fifty) that it per- 
plexes young house-keepers, and they do not know which 
to choose. This I have avoided, giving only a few rich 
and a few plain, varying the material of which they are 
made as much as possible. 

This DiKECTORY contains the best known receipts for 
curing hams, beef and tongues, articles often rendered 
unwholesome and unpalatable for the want of this knowl- 
edge. It also contains reliable receipts for making grape, 
currant, blackberry and elderberry wines, the latter being 
' considered one of the most desirable medicinal stimulants. 



VI INTRODUCTORY. 

It also contains a number of cheap receipts for coloring, 
whereby a handy house-keeper can color faded worsted 
curtains, curtain linings, lawns and ribbons, and make 
them look new. 

This DmECTORY will be found of great service to ama- 
teur farmers and gardeners, and persons improving subur- 
ban residences, showing them how and when to plant 
fruit trees, shrubbery and flowers ; how much can be 
planted on an acre, what kind of soil is adapted to the 
various kinds of fruit, the proper location for an orchard 
and vineyard, and how to prepare the ground for plant- 
ing ; also, how and when to bud and graft ; how old trees 
can be made fruitful, and how large trees can be removed 
with safety; also, directions for planting gooseberries, 
currants, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. 

The directions and receipts given under the Medical 
head, for the treatment and cure of many diseases com- 
mon in this country, (particularly of children) will be 
found of great value to persons living in the country re- 
mote from a physician, and often save life if promptly 
attended to. It will also direct how-to prevent, and how 
to treat cholera, and the best known remedies for it; 
selected carefully from the experience and directions of 
the best physicians in our own and in foreign countries. 
Every family should possess these directions and reme- 
dies, as it is neglect of first symptoms that makes this 
disease so fatal. 

It also tells you how to treat persons drowned, stunned 
by lightning, frozen, cutting an artery, bleeding at the 
nose or lungs, burns, swallowing of poison, or an overdose 
of laudanum ; besides many other things too numerous 
to mention, but very important to the welfare of a family. 

It shows, also, every citizen or farmer, how they can 
have a house or barn at a cost of from three to six hundred 



' INTRODUCTORY. Vli 

dollars, (according to size). It is a stigma upon the 
American character, that so many of our citizens are 
without a homestead. In some of our States it has been 
necessary to possess a certain amount of property in order 
to have the privilege of the elective franchise, and were 
I a legislator, I would favor the passage of such a law, as 
a stimulus to industry and economy. There are but few 
who, with these qualities, could not soon have a dwelling 
of their own, such as is described in this Directory. Any 
mechanic or laboring man could build himself a home for 
the rent he pays yearly. And an acre of ground, judi- 
ciously planted, will furnish all the fruit, vegetables and 
berries any family could consume. 

I do not presume, in this brief Directory, to teach old 
and experienced house-keepers, or to tell all I know my- 
self, or all I deem worthy of being known, about house- 
keeping. My object is to give to the uninitiated a simple 
foundation to build on in the outset of life, leaving them 
ample scope to learn and experiment for themselves. And 
I trust they will carefully preserve all valuable informa- 
tion gained; and then, after forty years, should they 
meet with a reverse of fortune, by publishing their expe- 
rience, they may benefit the young, and secure for them- 
selves a competence. 

The contents of this Directory will not be arranged in 
alphabetical order, but for convenience«and saving of time, 
each department will be arranged under its appropriate 
heading, and everything pertaining to that department 
given in its proper connection. It would be well for each 
member of the family, while resting or waiting for their 
meals, to make themselves familiar with the information 
given, and be reaSy to act promptly in case of accidents. 

It will be readily perceived, that the receipts given in 
the "Cooks' Department" are intended for a good sized 



Vlll INTRODUCTORY. 

family. House-keepers can regulate tlie quantity to suit 
the size and appetites of their families. 

[Having a good appetite myself, and not having been 
educated in a French school^ I have no receipts for prepar- 
ing dishes from " pigeon's wings."] 

I may have erred in giving receipts that are too econom- 
ical to suit the taste of some, but it is easy to add to them, 
if desired richer, without injury. 

The earnest solicitation of many inexperienced house- 
keepers has induced me to publish that which was orig- 
inally intended only for the benefit of my own family ; 
and I feel confident that if the instruction given is judi- 
ciously carried out, this Directory will be regarded as a 
family blessing, and save many a family jar, 

A. C. C. 



CONTENTS. 



Bread and Cakes — page. 

Yeast, to make 1 

Bread 1 

Brown bread 1 

Soda biscuit 2 

Hard " 2 

Sponge" .' 2 

Cream cakes 2 

Waffles, or griddle cakes 3 

Buckwheat cakes ^ 3 

Corn cake 3 

Corn griddle cakes 3 

Dry bread 3 

White, or Bride's Cake 3 

White Mountain Cake 4 

Surprise Cake 4 

Sponge '* 4 

Fruit " 4 

Cake without eggs 4 

Bachelor's Loaf 4 

Doughnuts 5 

Cymbals 5 

Ginger-snaps 5 

Sponge ginger-bread 5 

Icing for cakes 5 

Meringues 6 

Beautiful ornament for summer parties 6 

Good pastry 7 

Paste puffs 7 

Pees— 

Mince 7 

Pumpkin 7 

Lemon 7 

Tomato, green 8 

Elderberry ^ 8 

Puddings — 

Rose-colored, or Sunday pudding 8 

Delightful 9 

Custard 9 

Suet, or plum 9 

Corn-starch 9 

Prince Albert, or Jbread 9 

Boiled custard 9 

Apple custard 10 

Sauces for Puddings — 

Nos. J,2,3,4 10 



X CONTENTS. 

Desserts for Tea or Dinner — 

Blanc mange 10 

Rice jelly 11 

Ice cream 11 

Italian cream Jl 

Custard, frozen 11 

Meats — 

Boiled fowls 12 

ham 12 

tongue 12 

salmon 12 

Corned beef 12 

impromptu 12 

Beef steak, to broil 13 

Pork steak, fry 13 

Veal cutlet 13 

Salt ham, to fry 13 

Hash 13 

Meat cakes 13 

Chicken salad 13 

Oysters — 

Fried, scolloped, stewed 14 

Chicken Pie 15 

Soups— 

Bean 15 

Beef 15 

Chicken, or noodle 16 

Vegetables — to cook — 

Corn 16 

Tomatoes 16 

Asparagus 16 

Salsify ..'.'.'...'.'.'...'.'.... 17 

Corn oysters 17 

Cold slaw 17 

Hominy 17 

Eggs— 

To fry 18 

To poach 18 

Sausage— 

To make 1° 

Lard- 
To render 1° 

Coffee — 

Best substitute 18 

Pickle— 

For hams 1^ 

beef 19 

tongues • 1^ 

butter j^ 

cucumbers - - 1" 



CONTENTS. XI 

Corn— ' 

To dry 19 

To cook 20 

Lima Beans — 

To dry 20 

Canning Fruits, etc. — 

Peaches 20 

Fruit canners' receipt 20 

Spiced peaches 20 

Quinces — . 21 

Jellies — 

Apple 21 

Quince 21 

Currant 21 

Jams 22 

Citron preserves « 22 

To clarify sugar for preserving - 22 

Apple Butter 22 

Tomato Butter 23 

Peach Marmalade 23 

To Seal Large Jars 23 

Catsups — 

Tomato 23 

Cucumber 23 

Tomato, canned 24 

Pickles — 

Tomato 24 

Onion 24 

Damson 24 

Pepper 24 

Cabbage 25 

Cucumber 25 

Vinegar — 

Family 25 

Cider 25 

Summer Drinks — 

Cherry vinegar 25 

Raspberry vinegar 26 

Ginger beer 26 

Domestic Wines — 

Elderberry 26 

Currant 26 

Blackberry 27 

Grape 27 

HOUSE-KEEPERS' DEPARTMENT. 
Coloring — 

Yellow, green, scarlet, pink 28 

Orange, black, chemic-blue 29 

Family dyes 29 



Xll CONTENTS. 

Miscellaneous — 

Paint, to clean 30 

Carpets, to clean 30 

Oil paintings, to clean 30 

Oil blinds, to clean 30 

To preserve eggs 30 

To remove panes of glass 30 

To drive nails in hardwood 30 

To extract paint from cloth 30 

To examine w ells 30 

Black calico 31 

To wash calico 31 

To soften hard water 31 

To make soap 31 

Furniture polish 31 

Ants 31 

Flower Garden — 

Mildew on roses 32 

Plants in winter 32 

Tulips 32 

Pruning trees 32 

Farmers' and gardeners' table 33 

Gardening — 

To plant tomatoes 33 

peas 33 

melons 33 

extra early peas 34 

sweet potatoes 34 

Irish " 34 

sun-flowers 34 

A Piece of Land — 

An acre of ground 34 

Insects on vegetables 34 

Coal tar 34 

To dry fruit 35 

Cider, to keep sweet 35 

How TO Plant Fruit Trees— 

Apple, pear, cherry 36 

Peach, plum, quince, grapes 37 

Gooseberries and currants 37 

Raspberries 38 

Strawberries 33 

Blackberries 39 

Grafting and Budding — 

Grafting wax 39 

Old fruit trees 39 

Curculio 40 

Peach borer 40 

Mulching 40 

Worth knowing 40 

Farming — 

Grass and grain 41 

Clover as manure 41 



CONTENTS. Xii/ 

Farming — Continued. 

Manuring wheat - 41 

Kelative value of pork and corn 41 

Cooked food for cows 42 

Root crops 42 

Butter 42 

Hay for cows in summer 42 

Fattening fowls 42 

Poultry for market 43 

Fattening cattle on hay 43 

Time to cut timber 43 

Scratching up corn 43 

To measure corn in crib 43 

Buckwheat, to raise 43 

What makes a bushel 44 

Diseases of Animals — 

Trembles in cattle 44 

Horses, fatigued 44 

Hog cholera 44 

Bots in horses 44 

Colic in horses 44 

Scratches in horses 44 

Heaves " 45 

Houses and Barns — 

Whitewash for out-buildings 45 

MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 

Cholera — 

How to prevent 46 

How to treat 47 

Remedies 51-52 

Accidents — 

Drowned persons 52 

Swimming 53 

Frozen or stupified with cold 53 

Stunned by lightning 53 

Persons on fire 53 

Burns or scalds 54 

Cutting an artery 54 

Antidotes for poison 54 

Hydrophobia and snake bites 54 

Sprains ,- 54 

Ear ache, cancer, erysipelas, tetter, coughs 55 

Rheumatism, etc. — 

Cough Syrup No. 1 --. 55 

" No.2 55 

Bronchitis 56 

Asthma - 56 

Bleeding at the lungs - 56 

Bleeding at the nose 56 

Scrofula - - - 56 

Consumption 56 

Inflammations 56 



xiv CONTENTS. 

Medical Miscellany. 

Croup - 57 

Diptheria - 57 

Scarlet fever 57 

Measles 57 

Whooping cough 58 

Sciatica, or gout of tlie hip 58 

Inflammatory rheumatism 58 

Liniment for rheumatism and neuralgia 58 

Toe-nails 59 

Cramp 59 

Ringworm 59 

Constipation of bowels 59 • 

Nervous chills - 59 

Dispepsia 59 - 

Coal oil for sores 59 

Dysentery, or flux 59-60 

Felons 60 

Small-pox 60 

Tape-worm '. 61 

Warts and corns 61 

Freckles 61 

Night-mare 61 

Frosted feet 61 

Pile salve 61 

Gy mpson salve 61 

Elder blossom salve 62 

Sore or weak eyes 62 

Miasma : 62 

Debility 62 

Bathing 62, 

Fresh air 62' 

Children 62 

Biting the nails 63 

Teeth 63 

To whiten teeth 63 

Inflammation of throat and lungs 63 

Night sweats 63 

Hiccups - - 63 

Food for the Sick — 

Beef tea - 64 

Panada 64 

Barley water 64 

Apple water 64 

Isinglass jelly , 64 

Toast • 64 

Baked rice 64 

Pickled pork - -. 65 

Farina 65 

Diet 65 



CONTENTS. XV 

ADDENDA. 

Marbled cake 66 

Jelly cake 66 

Coffee cake .•.. 66 

Floating island 67 

To preserve strawberries 67 

Wheat flour blanc mange 67 

Philadelphia ice cream 67 

Lemon sherbert 67 

French rolls 68 

Sour dough 68 

Boiled Indian pudding 68 

Loaf pudding .>-.. 68 

Pudding bag 68 

Bursted apple 69 

Apples whole 69 

Apple meringue 69 

Apple pudding, in crust 69 

To stew pears 69 

Cranberry sauce 70 

Baked custard 70 

Cinnamon rolls 70 

Cobblers 70 

Boiled rice 70 

Arrowroot for children 70 

Blackberry syrup 71 

Omelet 71 

Codfish balls 71 

Sandwiches 71 

To fry fresh fish 72 

• boiledfish 72 

bakefish 72 

saltfish 72 

smoked halibut 72 

To stew chicken 72 

fry chicken •. 73 

cook liver 73 

stew a beef heart *. 73 

Oyster sauce -. 73 

To make and fry mush 73 

Potatoes — To fry, mash, boil or bake 74 

Drawn butter. .' 74 

Parsley 74 

Celery sauce ~ 74 

Stuffing or dressing 74 

Piccalilla, or mixed pickle 75 

Pepper sauce 75 

Universal pickle - - 75 

Pickle tomatoes 76 

Keep apples or pears 76 

Sweet potatoes .-. 76 

Straw matting - 77 

Silver and plated ware ..*. 77 

Fainting 77 

Croup 77 



XVI CONTENTS. 

Bug poison - 77 

Remove marks from a table 77 

Ink stains 78 

Keep hams in summer 78 

Renovate black silk 78 

velvet 78 

Cement for tops of bottles or jars 78 

Economical paint - 78 

Painting a room - 79 

Hair renewer 79 

Beds and bedding 79 

Directions about coloring 79 

To prepare cotton goods for coloring 80 

How to have good servants 80 



COOK'S DEPARTMENT. 



BREAD, CAKES, Etc. 

To Make Yeast. — Tie a pint of hops in a thin cloth, 
put it in a gallon of water, with a quart of pared pota- 
toes, and boil one hour j strain it on a quart of flour, 
squeezing the hops well j then add and mash the potatoes, 
adding one cup each, of sugar and salt, and two table- 
, spoons of gingery when milk- warm, add one cup of good 
yeast — let it rise — stir it down several times, then cork it 
up tight, put it in a cool place, and you will have good 
yeast for a month. The same kind of yeast is best to 
raise a new lot. 

To MAKE THE BEST BREAD. — For six loavcs of bread, 
scald two quarts of flour, (beating out all lumps,) when 
milk- warm add one cup of yeast, (from above receipt) 
and let it rise 5 make into thin mush, two quarts of corn 
meal ("white is best,) boil it well and have no lumps; 
when the yeast has risen, add the mush, (also milk-warm) 
and flour enough to make a dough ; work well and bake 
well, and you will have the best of bread. Boiled mashed 
potatoes may be substituted for the mush, and the bread 
is as good. Add a little shortening to a piece of this 
dough, let it rise, and you have excellent light rolls. • 

Brown Bread. — ^For four loaves of bread, scald one 
quart of white flour, when nearly cold, add "one cup of 

2 



2 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

yeast, when raised, add one tablespoon of salt, and a half 
pint of molasses, adding brown flour and warm water 
sufficient to make the quantity you want into a stiff bat- 
ter, well beaten with a spoon ; when light, pour into but- 
tered pans and bake well. 

Soda Biscuit. — To three pints of flour, take one tea- 
spoon of soda, and two of cream tartar, pulverize and 
stir well through the flour, then take a piece of butter or 
lard, size of an egg, and rub it well through the flour 5 
wet with sweet milk until soft as can be rolled out ; bake 
quick. They can be made with half milk and half water, 
or wholly of water. 

Hard Biscuit. — Take four pounds of flour and rub 
three and a half pounds of it with four ounces of butter 
and two teaspoons of salt ; moisten it with milk, pound 
it out thin with a rolling-pin, sprinkle a little of the re- 
served flour over it lightly, roll it up and pound it out 
again, sprinkle on more of the flour 5 repeat this opera- 
tion till you get in all the reserved flour ; then roll it out 
thin, cut into cakes with a tumbler, lay them on flat, but- 
tered tins 5 bake in a quick oven. 

Sponge Biscuit. — Stir into a pint of luke-warm milk 
half a tea cup of melted butter, a teaspoonful of salt, half 
a tea cup of family, or a tablespoonful of brewer's yeast, 
(the latter is the best ;) add flour till it is a very stiff bat- 
ter. When light, drop this mixture by the large spoon- 
ful on to flat, buttered tins, several inches apart. Let 
them remain a few minutes before baking. Bake them 
in a quick oven till they are a light brown. 

Cream Cakes. — ^Mix half a pint of thick cream with 
the same quantity of milk, four eggs, a teaspoon of salt, 
and flour to render them just stiff enough to drop on but- 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 3 

tered tins. They should be dropped by the large spoon- 
ftd, several inches apart, and baked in a quick oven. 

Wapfles or Griddle Cakes. — One quart flour, one 
quart sour milk, one teaspoon salt, two tablespoons melt- 
ed butter, one teafepoon soda, and four eggs well beaten. 

Buckwheat Cakes. — Mix to a stiff paste, or batter, 
with warm water or milk, adding a desert spoon of salt 
and a cup of fresh yeast : beat thoroughly and set in warm 
place to rise. They can be made without yeast, by add- 
ing two teaspoons of cream tartar or half a cup of vine- 
gar and one teaspoon soda, and baked immediately. 

Corn Cakes. — One quart sour milk, one teaspoon sali, 
one tablespoon lard, one large teaspoon soda, one egg 5 
beat well and bake in shallow pans. 

Corn Griddle Cakes. — ^Pour one pint of boiling 
water on one quart of meal, stir well 5 when nearly cold, 
add four well beaten eggs, one teaspoon of salt and one 
of soda ; one large spoon of flour and one of melted lard, 
add milk enough to make into batter ; bake on a hot grid- 
dle. 

Dry Bread. — Soak stale or sour bread in cold water, 
if sour, add a large spoonful of soda 5 when soft, pare off 
the dark crust, squeeze dry and mash fine with your 
hands ; then take a pint of fresh yeast, and flour enough 
to work into dough 5 work well and let it rise j bake well 
and you have a good brown bread. Bread prepared in 
this way is nice for bre^d puddings, or griddle cakes. 

White, or Brides' Cake. — Four cups white sugar, 
one teaspoonfiil soda, four cups flour, four teaspoonsful 
cream tartar, two cups butter, whites of thirteen eggs, 
one cup sweet milk. Flavor with lemon. 



4 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

White Mountain Cake. — Two and a half cups flour, 
one cup white sugar, half cup butter, half cup sweet 
milk, two eggs, one teaspoon cream tartar, and half tea- 
spoon soda 5 beat well and bake in moderate oven. (Best 
cake for material used.) 

Surprise Cake — One eggj one cup sugar, half cup 
butter, one cup sweet milk, one teaspoon soda, two tea- 
spoons cream tartar. Flavor with lemon and use sufficient 
sifted flour to make the proper consistence, and you will 
really be surprised to see its bulk and beauty. 

Sponge Cake. — Beat the yolks of ten eggs with one 
pound of white sugar 5 beat the whites of the eggs to a 
stiff froth, and stir them into the yolks and sugar, beat 
the whole ten or fifteen minutes, then stir in gradually 
three-fourths of a pound of sifted flour, with juice and 
grated rind of one lemon — bake. 

Fruit Cake. — One coffee cup butter, one of milk, 
three of sugar, five of flour, three pounds of currants and 
raisins, mixed, half pound citron, six eggs, one teaspoon 
soda and one of salt 5 add cloves, cinnamon, mace and 
nutmegs to suit taste. Let all be well beaten. 

Cake without Eggs. — One' cup sugar, one of butter, 
one of milk, two ounces currants, (or not) one teaspoon 
dry cream tartar, half teaspoon soda, dissolved in milk, 
nutmeg and flour enough to make a batter, stiff as pound 
cake. 

Bachelors' Loaf. — One cup of milk, one cup of but- 
ter, two cups sugar, six eggs, well beaten, flour enough 
to make a stiff batter, one cup yeast, well stirred in, put 
at once in a buttered pan, let it rise three hours, bake as 
bread, serve hot, eat with butter. 



FAMILY DIRECTOEY. 5 

Doughnuts. — One cup sour cream or milk, two cups 
sugar, one cup butter, four eggs, one nutmeg, two tea- 
spoons soda, flour enough to roll, cut into any shape you 
please, and boil in hot lard. i 

Cymbals. — Take one-half pound sugar, one-fourth 
pound butter, two eggs, one-half nutmeg, one teaspoon 
soda, one half cup milk, stir the butter and sugar together, 
then add the eggs and a little flour, stir in the milk and 
soda, add sufficient flour to make it stiff enough to roll 
out ; roll it out (in pounded white sugar) one-half an inch 
thick J cut with a tumbler into cakes, and bake them in 
flat buttered tins. 

Ginger Snaps. — One cup molasses, one-half cup each of 
sugar, butter and warm water, (the butter melted with 
the water,) one small teaspoon soda, (dissolved in water), 
two tablespoons ginger. The dough should be stiff; knead 
it well, and roll into sheets ; cut into round cakes, and 
bake in a moderate oven. 

Sponge Ginger Bread." — One cup sour milk, one of 
molasses, one-half cup of butter, two eggs, one and a half 
teaspoons soda, one tablespoon ginger, and flour enough 
to make it stiff as pound cake ; put the butter, molasses 
and ginger together, and make them quite warm; then 
add the milk, flour and soda, and bake immediately- 

IciNG FOR Cakes. — Take the whites of four eggs, beat 
to a perfect froth, and stiff, one pound of pulverized white 
sugar, one-half tablespoon starch, and juice of half a 
lemon ; sift the sugar and starch into the beaten egg, and 
stir well and long ; when the cake is cold lay on a coat of 
the frostiog; it is best not to take much pains in putting 
on the first coat, as little bits of the cake mix up with it, 
and give it a yellow appearance; but on the next day 



6 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

make more frosting, tlie same as the first, and apply a 
second coat, and it will be white, clear and beautiful ; by 
dipping the knife into cold water as applying, you can 
smooth the frosting very nicely. . 

Meringues. — Take the whites of six eggs, and one 
pound of sifted pounded white sugar j procure a board 
about an inch in thickness, the size of your stove oven ; 
cover this with foolscap or thin cartridge paper j beat the 
whites of eggs to a stiff froth j stir the sugar in lightly 
with a spoon ; do not stir it too much, as it would lose its 
firmness j with a dessert spoon drop the mixture on the 
papered board, in masses about the size of an egg, and 
half an inch apart j in dropping them turn the spoon over 
as they fall, so as to produce as round an appearance as 
possible j then dust them over with sifted sugar, and blow 
off the loose sugar from the paper j put them in a moder- 
ately heated oven, and bake a very light brown ; when 
done each piece must be carefully removed from the paper, 
the inside scraped out with a dessert spoon, leaving the 
shell about a quarter of an inch thick ; place them in order 
on a papered baking tin, the hollow side upwards, and 
put again in the oven, taking care they do not acquire any 
more color ; they should be dried so as to be quite crisp ; 
they may be put in the oven at night, when the fire is 
out and the heat subsided, and remain until morning, 
when they may be packed in a tin box and used when 
required. 

Beautiful Ornament for Summer Parties. — Take 
a square block of clear ice, as large as you have a dish to 
hold it, then place four glass salts in the dish, lay the 
ice upon these salts, fill the sides of the dish with ever- 
greens and flowers, wrap a wire or piece of cane with 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 7 

flowers and evergreens, make an arch over the dish each 
way ; this is beautiful, and cooling to the air. 

Good Pastry. — Take one-half a pound of butter and 
one-half a pound of nice lard, rub them into two pounds 
of flour, and mix with cold water to a stiff dough. Pie 
crust can be made cheaper and more wholesome by using 
the receipt for soda biscuit. 

To prevent juicy fruit from soaking into the under crust 
spread over it a coating of beaten egg. 

Paste Puffs. — Eoll out a rich paste, and cut them 
with a biscuit cutter ; lay them on a tin sheet ; cut a rich 
puff paste the same size ; cut a hole with a small wine 
glass, making a rim half an inch thick, and bake them 
until quite done. When sending them to the table fill 
them with preserves of any kind. 



PIES. 

Mince. — A shank, or any part of the beef, well boiled, 
and gristle removed, will make good pies. To every pound 
of chopped beef add one-fourth pound suet, one-fourth 
peck apples, one-half pound raisins, one- fourth pound cur- 
rants, one tablespoon ground cinnamon, one of cloves, and 
two pounds of sugar ; add sweet cider to moisten ; vinegar 
and water sweetened will answer; bake with good pastry. 

Pumpkin. — Take two quarts of fine cooked pumpkin, 
(winter squash or long-necked cushaw are best,) add one 
quart milk, one teaspoon salt, two tablespoons ginger and 
one of ground cinnamon or allspice, add eight well beaten 
eggs, sweeten to taste, and bake with bottom crust till 
well done. 

Lemon. — Three lemons, three cups sugar, six eggs, 
whites and yolks beaten separately, and whites added 



8 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

last, a small lump of butter, and about one and a half 
pints of corn-starch thickening ; bake with bottom crust, 
(enough for three pies.) 

Tomato. — Pour boiling water on green tomatoes until 
you can just strip off the skin, then cut in slices and put 
in deep pie-plates, sprinkle sugar over each layer and a 
little ginger, or grated lemon peel and the juice of lemon 
improves it ; cover with crust, and bake slowly for about 
one hour. 

Elderberry. — ^When fruit is scarce these make a nice 
pie, flavored with a few slices of lemon or a few spoonsful 
of vinegar and nutmeg. They can be canned and kept as 
other fruit through the winter. 

I have given only a few of such pies as are not in general 
use, deeming the making of fruit pies so simple as not to 
require any receipt for their making. All that is neces- 
sary is to have good pastry, good fruit, and well sweetened 
and well baked. 



PUDDINGS. 

EosE Colored or Sunday Pudding. — Take a large 
cup of sago, pour over it three pints of warm water, let it 
stand three hours in a warm place ; then take a dozen 
sweet or good cooking apples, pare and core them, put in 
an earthen dish large enough for your pudding, add water 
enough to cover them, and a few sticks of cinnamon or 
bits of lemon peel, and sugar enough to make a thin syrup. 
Boil llie apples till tender and transparent, keeping them 
whole as possible. When done set away to cool ; when 
cold pour the sago over them, and bake in a moderate 
oven half an hour. Set away to cool. Eat cold with 
sweetened cream flavored with vanilla or lemon. This 
pudding should be made the day before using. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 9 

Delightful PuDDnsra. — Take one quart of boiling 
milk, quarter pound each of flour and maslied potatoes, 
and a small lump of butter, and wlien cold add three eggs 
well beaten ; bake half an hour ; eat with sauce No. 3. 

Custard Pudding. — Stir a quart of milk gradually 
into half a pint of flour, mix free from lumps, add the 
yolks of seven eggs, well beaten, separately, with three 
tablespoons sugar, one teaspoon salt, half a grated nut- 
meg, add the whites of the eggs, beaten to a froth, just 
before putting in the oven ; bake three-fourths of an hour 3 
eat with cream flavored with lemon, or No. 2. 

Suet or Plum Pudding. — Take one cup each of 
molasses, milk, and suet chopped fine, one teaspoon soda, 
dissolved in milk, three and a half cups of sifted flour, one 
cup chopped raisins, and one cup currants, one half tea- 
spoon salt. Put in a tin bucket with tight cover ; set it 
in a kettle of water, and boil hard five hours. It makes 
a good pudding without any fruit. 

Corn Starch Pudding. — Take four tablespoons corn 
starch, one quart sweet milk, and three eggs, mix the corn 
starch in milk enough to make a thin batter 5 boil the milk, 
and when scalding hot add the beaten eggs; when it 
thickens add the batter; stir till done; put in moulds. 
Eat with sweet cream, flavored with lemon or vanilla. 

Prince Albert or Bread Pudding. — Take half a 
pound each of bread crumbs, sugar and butter, six eggs, 
beaten separately, add a pint of milk, and juice and grated 
rind of one lemon, four tablespoons of any kind of pre- 
serves; boil one hour in a tin bucket tightly covered, 
immersed in boiling water. 

Boiled Custard. — Take four eggs to one quart of 
milk ; let the milk come to a scald ; then stir in the eggs, 



10 FAMILY DIRECTOllY. 

well beaten, with a small cup of sugar, stirring till it be- 
gins to thicken ; flavor with nutmeg or vanilla. If liked 
richer, add two more eggs. This poured over stale cake 
or crumbed crackers makes a nice dessert. 

Apple Custaed. — Custard made as the above, with 
a few spoonsful of grated or stewed apple added, and 
baked with under-crust, is very nice. 



SAUCES FOR PUDDINGS. 

Ko. 1. — Cream Sauce. — Boil half a pint of cream, 
thicken very little, and add a lump of butter. Sweeten 
to taste, and when cold add one lemon rind and juice, 
grated or sliced, or nutmeg. 

No. 2. — Stir together one cup of butter and one cup of 
sugar, yolk of ,one egg, one teaspoon of flour j slice a 
lemon, and put all into a bowl or pitcher, and add half a 
pint of boiling water. 

^0. 3. — Beat equal quantities of white sugar and but- 
ter to a cream, adding a little grated nutmeg, and beat 
all well together j put it in a cool place to harden, before 
using. 

]S^o. 4. — Take one cup of molasses, one cup of vinegar, 
and half a cup of butter j simmer together and flavor 
with nutmeg. 

DESSERTS FOR TEA OR DINNER. 

Blanc Mange. — Take one tea-cup of Irish moss, care- 
fully picked and washed j add to it half a gallon of sweet 
milk 5 let it simmer one hour in^a porcelain vessel, stir- 
ring often while boiling ; add a stick of cinnamon or a 
little lemon or orange-peel ; strain through fine sieve or 
mosquito-bar j put in moulds or cups to cool j let it stand 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 11 

six or eight hours (better if made evening before using) ; 
turn out of the moulds into a large dish or preserve 
glass. Eat with sweetened cream, flavored with vanilla, 
lemon or nutmeg. This is a nice dessert for dinner, and 
bjptter than preserves for tea. 

EiCE Jelly. — Boil a quarter of a pound of rice flour 
with half a pound of loaf sugar in a quart of water till 
the Fhole becomes a glutinous mass; pour in cups to 
harden. Eat with sweetened cream, flavored with van- 
illa. 

Ice Cream. — To one gallon of cream take two and a 
half pounds of white sugar, adding a tablespoon of van- 
illa, or any other flavoring extract. About five pounds 
of ice mixed with two pounds of coarse salt to freeze 
this quantity. 

Italian Cream. — Take three pints of milk, one pack- 
age of Coxe's gelatine, the yolks of six eggs, six table- 
spoons of sugar 'j dissolve the gelatine in the milk, and 
when it begins to boil, stir in the beaten eggs and sugary 
remove it from the fire, and add extract of vanilla to 
flavor, stirring until cool ; pour into moulds which have 
been dipped in cold water. 

Custard, frozen, is a good substitute for ice cream. 



MEATS. 

To Stuff and Eoast Fowls, Fish, &c. — Take fine 
bread-crumbs — the quantity required — melt a lump of 
butter in a little water, and mix well, seasoning well with 
pepper, salt and sage, summer savory, or finely chopped 
onions. Examine your fowls to see that nothing im- 
proper is left inside ; wash weU and drain ; fill the breast 
with the stuffing and sew it up ; put the remainder in the 



12 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

body of the fowl, sew up, and tie down legs and wings. 
If tough, boil two hours in a small quantity of water ; then 
take it out, put in a pan, roast and baste well ; taste to 
see that it is properly seasoned. Stuffing prepared in 
this way will answer for veal, fish, mutton, &c. 

Boiled Fowls. — Old fowls are best boiled, after being 
stuffed. Great care should be used in cooking, not to 
put in too much water ; add, as you need, from a boiling 
kettle. Too much water makes fowls and meats insipid. 
Slice hard-boiled eggs in the gravy and spread over them 
when taken up. 

To Boil Ham. — A ham weighing ten pounds should 
boil five hours 5 larger ones in same proportion. If very 
salt, soak from fifteen to twenty hours, changing water. 

To Boil Tonoue. — K very dry and salt, soak six or 
eight hours before boiling. Boil from two and a half 
to four hours. 

To Boil Salt Salmon. — Let it soak over night 5 boil 
slowly two hours. Eat with drawn butter. 

Corned Beef Eolled. — Take the flank part of a 
quarter of beef; wash it clean ; roll it up close and tie it 
with wrapping-yarn tight; boil till quite tender; when 
cold, remove the string and cut thin, like tongue. Bony 
pieces or ribs boiled till the bones will pull out, and press- 
ed into good shape, cut thin when cold, is as good as 
tongue, for evening parties, and much cheaper. 

Impromptu Corned Beef. — To two gallons of water 
add one pint of salt, and boil your beef in it till tender, 
or till the bones will pull out ; put in a pan and press 
with a weight ; when cold, slice thin. This is very good, 
but does not look so handsome as the corned beef. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 1^ 

To Broil Beef Steak. — Have a clear fire. Have a 
pan by your side containing some melted butter, pepper 
and salt, into which dip your steak occasionally, sticking 
it through with a knife j turn often. Any steak or chop, 
fowl or bird, should be broiled in the same way. 

To Fry Pork Steak.— Fry in lard, seasoned well 
with salt, pepper and powdered sage. This is the best 
substitute for sausage. 

To Cook a Yeal Cutlet. — Beat two large eggs 5 
add flour enough to make a batter ; salt and pepper the 
meat well 5 dip both sides into the batter 5 lay into a pan 
with plenty of hot butter or lard, pouring the balance of 
the batter over it ; let it cook slowly filteen or twenty 
minutes 5 when well browned, turn over carefully, and 
cook till thoroughly done. Then add a cup of cream, and 
simmer a few minutes. 

To Fry Salt Ham. — Parboil ten minutes, then fry in 
fresh lard. 

Hashes — Can be made of any kind of cold fresh meats, 
chopped fine, with a few slices of potatoes and onions 5 
stew in a small quantity of water, with a little pepper and 
salt, and flour dredged over to thicken the gravy. 

Meat Cakes. — Take any kind of fresh cold meat, chop 
fine, beat two eggs in half a cup of milk, and flour enough 
to make a thick batter 5 add a little pepper and salt ; stir 
in the meat, and bake on the griddle as you would griddle 
cakes. 

Chicken Salad. — ^Boil tender a pair of fowls, skin and 
remove the fat, cut the meat from the bones in small 
pieces, split two heads of clean celery, cut in small pieces, 



14 FAMILY DIRECTNRY. 

put chickens and celery together in a deep dish, cover, 
and set away ; just before it is to be eaten mash the yolks 
of eight hard boiled eggs, to which S;dd a small teaspoon 
each of salt and cayenne pepper, half a gill of mixed 
mustard, and half teacup of good vinegar, and a small cup 
of melted butter, and yolk of a raw egg, well beaten ; mix 
these ingredients thoroughly, stirring till quite smooth ; 
pour this on the chickens and celery, and mix well with 
a silver fork or spoon. 

Fried Oysters. — Put the oysters into a stew-pan with 
the liquor, let them stew a few minutes, then put them in 
a cullender and drain ; beat well four eggs, and dip the 
oysters, one by one, into the egg, and then into rolled 
crackers or corn meal ; fry in equal parts of butter and 
lard till light brown. K required for a large company 
fry them through the day ; spread on a large dish and 
heat in a stove when served ; can be fried without stewing* 

Scolloped Oysters. — Pour the oysters from the cans 
into a cullender over a pan to catch the juice, then take 
the dish you intend to cook them in and cover the bottom 
half an inch thick with fine, dry bread crumbs or rolled 
crackers j then with a fork spread the oysters regularly 
over this, then another half inch of crackers, then another 
layer of oysters, and so on till you have used all your 
material, finishing with crackers on top , add to the oyster 
juice half a cup of water, a little salt and pepper, moisten 
well the crackers with this liquor, adding two or three 
little lumps of butter to each layer, spreading all the 
liquor over it ; bake in a moderate oven one hour ; serve 
in dish in which they were cooked, hot. 

Stewed Oysters. — ^To a whole can take three quarts 
boiling water, add half a pound of butter, a dessert spoon 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 15 

of salt, a quarter of teaspoon of pepper, two tablespoons 
of flour, reduced to a fine paste in a pint of cream ; simmer 
five minutes. 

Chicken Pie. — Cut in small pieces two chickens, put 
them to stew in three quarts of water, and add half a 
dozen slices of fresh pork or ribs, (or pickled pork par- 
boiled a few minutes;) when about half done add a dozen 
pared potatoes, a tablespoon of salt and one teaspoon of 
pepper ; when the potatoes are about done take off the 
fire. In the meantime have ready enough good crust to 
cover the top and bottom of a large, deep pan, the bottom 
crust about twice as thick as pie-crust, with a cross-cut in 
the bottom ; then place alternately a layer of chickens, 
pork and potatoes, till all are in the pan ; pour on the 
liquor ; have enough to fill nearly to the top ; add a little 
more pepper and salt, if not well seasoned, and a large 
lump of butter ; dredge on a little flour ; slit and put on 
top crust ; bake in a moderate oven one hour and a half, 
keeping the pan filled with hot water. 



; SOUPS. 

Bean Soup — Can be made with either beef or pork ; 
pickled pork is best ; pick and wash the beans early in 
the morning J put on the fire in cold water; let them sim- 
mer two hours ; then boil hard half an hour ; then skim 
out and add to your meat, which should be boiling in the 
meantime in as much water as you wish soup ; cook till 
thoroughly done, adding salt, pepper, and a little thick- 
ening. 

Beef Soup. — Take a shank of beef, cut in pieces, break- 
ing the bone to let out the marrow, boil very tender; 
when half done add salt, pepper, sliced onions, chopped 
cabbage, a few sliced turnips and potatoes ; lastly, some 



I 

16 FAMILY DIRECTOEY. 

dropped dumplings, made by beating two eggs in half a 
pint of milk and flour enough to make a stiff batter ; drop 
in a spoonful at a time, and boil half an hour. 

Chicken or Noodle Soup. — Cut in small pieces your 
chicken, and add as much water as you wish soup ; add 
one tablespoon salt and a little pepper ; while this is boil- 
ing beat two eggs and add flour enough to make it into a 
stiff dough, and roll it out in flour as thin as possible; 
roll up and cut in strips as fine as twine and two inches 
long, and shake out to dry a little ; add these and a lump 
of butter to the soup, and boil half an hour. Soups should 
never be boiled rapidly, and all superfluous fat should be 
skimmed off. If the soup is not as rich as you wish, add 
a little thickening made of flour and water. 

To Cook Corn. — Cut from the cob ; avoid cutting too 
near it ; then scrape to get the balance of the juice ; add 
to the corn a pint of milk or cream, a large lump of but- 
ter, pepper and salt ; let it stew slowly three quarters of 
an hour, and you have the best corn ever eaten. 

Stewed Tomatoes. — Pour on them boiling water andr 
let them remain in it two minutes to loosen the skins, peel 
and put them in a stew pan, with a little salt, pepper and 
butter ; let them stew half an hour, then pour upon but- 
tered toast and serve them. 

Asparagus on Toast. — Cut in two parts, putting the 
green ends by themselves ; cook the white end half an 
hour before putting in the green j when well done take 
half a pint of water from the asparagus, add to it a little 
butter, salt and pepper, and a tablespoon of flour without 
lumps; have ready a dish with several slices of toast, 
skim out the asparagus and pour the gravy boiling over it. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 17 

VEGETABLES, EGGS, SAUSAGE, LARD, BRINES. 

Salsify or Oyster Plant. — Wash and scrape the 
salsify, boil it tender, then drain it dry and mash it j have 
ready bread crumbs, make the oyster plant into cakes, 
roll it in the crumbs, and fry them a nice brown. It is 
also very nice stewed tender and a gravy made with a 
little butter, cream and flour. 

Corn Oysters. — Grate young, sweet corn into a dish, 
and to one pint add one egg well beaten, a teacup of flour, 
half a gill of cream, and a teaspoon of salt, mix well to- 
gether. Fry it exactly like oysters, dropping it into the 
fat by spoonsful about the size of an oyster. 

Cold Slaw. — Select a white, hard head of cabbage, 
cut it in half and lay it in water for an hour ; when ready 
shave it with a cutter or sharp knife very fine 5 put half 
a pint of vinegar on to boil, beat up the yolk of an egg 
with a little salt and cayenne, pour the boiling vinegar 
on the yolk, stir it well and pour it over the shaved cab- 
bage. This is nice with roast beef. 

To Boil Hominy. — To be wholesome it should boil 
slowly from eight to ten hours ; care should be taken not 
to scorch it, as that spoils both color and flavor ; should 
be boiled in a large vessel, with plenty of water, and re- 
plenished with boiling water as is needful. No cold water 
should be put into it. When done, put in an earthen 
vessel, warming what you need, adding a little butter, 
pepper and salt. 

I deem the cooking of most vegetables so simple that 
they need no directions, except that they be well cooked 
and not over-salted. 
3 



18 FAMILY DIRECTOEY. 

To Fry Eggs. — ^You should always pour the fat from 
the pan after ham is fried, and wash it out, then return 
the clear fat and fry in that. 

To Poach Eggs. — Break eggs, one by one, in a cup, 
when doubtful, till you have enough ; pour gently into a 
shallow pan of boiling water, with a little salt, let the 
whites cook till they can be lifted with a spoon, put a 
lump of butter on your dish and take them up. 

To MAKE Sausages. — To twenty-five pounds of chop- 
ped meat, which should be one-third fat and two thirds 
lean, put twenty spoonfuls of sage, twenty-five of salt, 
ten of pepper, and four of summer savory. 

Eender Lard. — If you intend to render some of the 
side meat into lard, do it separate from the leaf lard, as 
it is harder to render, and should be cut finer; add a 
pint of water to begin, stir occasionally till thoroughly 
cooked, squeeze through a cullender or coarse flannel bag 
— be careful not to scorch 5 if put in jars, they should be 
sound, and heated in hot water before putting in the lard, 
or they will crack. 

Best Substitute for Coffee. — Take one pint of 
good molasses and one pint of water, and as much ship- 
stuff as this can possibly moisten, stir well and have no 
lumps 5 put in moderately heated stove and stir while 
drying, then burn as you would coffee, a dark brown, 
without scorching 5 take equal quantities of coffee and 
bran, make as usual, and you need no better coffee, if you 
have good cream. The whites of two eggs stirred well 
into the bran when nearly cold will make your coffee clear. 

Pickle for Haivis. — For every hundred pounds of 
ham, take eight pounds of salt, two ounces of saltpetre, 



FAMILY DIRECTORY, 19 

two pounds of brown sugar, one and a quarter ounces of 
potash, and four gallons of water 5 rub tbe hams well with 
fine salt before packing, and let them remain twenty -four 
hours, then put them in the pickle and let them remain 
well covered with brine six weeks j let the meat be thor- 
oughly cool before salting. 

PiCEXE FOR Beef. — To eight gallons of water, add 
one quart of molasses, three pounds of sugar, four ounces 
salt-petre and salt enough to make it bear an egg well. 
This quantity is sufficient for two quarters of beef For 
small quantities, take a stone jar with about one gallon 
of water, made salt enough to bear an egg, add a cup of 
sugar and one teaspoon salt-petre ; keep well under the 
brine — will be fit for use in a week, and will keep three 
weeks. Tongues must be cured in the same way. 

Pickle or Brine for Butter. — ^Dissolve one quart 
fine salt, one pound white sugar, one teaspoon saltpetre, 
in five quarts water, strain it on the butter if packed in 
crocks; if in rolls, wrap in cloths. Keep well under 
brine and it will keep sweet for a year. 

Brine for Cucumber Pickles. — ^Wash the cucum- 
bers carefully, place them in a clean tub, barrel or jar, 
cover them with salt as they are packed; cover with 
coarse cloth or cabbage leaves, and place a weight upon 
them to keep them under the brine. If you wish to add 
more pickles, wash as before, and wash the cloth or leaves 
before replacing them, using more salt. They will keep 
in this way a year, or will be fit for use in a week by soak- 
ing in water till fresh. 

To Dry Corn. — Select corn when just fit for the table, 
throw it in boiling water for ten minutes, take from the 
water, drain and cut from the cob ; spread on large tin 



20 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

pans and set in the sun, or moderately heated stove to 
dry. When thoroughly dry, put in bags and hang it in a 
dry place. 

To Cook. — Wash and put in cold water, (not too much) 
let it simmer slowly for three-quarters of an^'hour, boil 
half an hour ; dress with butter, cream, pepper, flour and 
salt. Lima beans soaked over night and added to this 
make a fine succotash. 

To Dry Lima Beans. — Select when fit for table, spread 
in the pod in sunny, airy place, till perfectly dry, shell 
and bag j keep in a dry place. To cooTc, soak over night, 
pour off the water, cook till done, and season with butter, 
cream, pepper and salt. 



CANNING FRUITS, &C. 

Peaches. — ^Pare and seed good ripe peaches (not too 
soft) ; have ready good, sweet cans j fill them as full as 
possible without mashing the fruit. To each quart of 
fruit add a tea-cup of sugar j set the cans in a vessel of 
cold water 5 place the vessel on the fire and let it remain 
till the water boils; seal air tight while hot. Peaches 
canned in this way have kept good two years. All fruit 
may be canned in this way. 

Fruit-cakners' Eeceipt. — Take three and a half 
pounds of sugar to one gallon of water ; make it a syrup, 
and let it become cold ; fill the cans with fruit and pour 
over it the cold syrup ; set the cans in water and let it 
come to a boil ; boil briskly three minutes, and then seal. 

Spiced Peaches. — Take large clings (not soft), pare, 
and slit on one side ; take as much of the best vinegar as 
will barely cover them. To every pound of peaches add 
a quarter of a pound of sugar ; add also, cloves, cinna- 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 21 

mon, nutmegs, &c., to your taste ; boil the vinegar and 
spices half an hour ; pour the hot vinegar on the fruit, 
and let it stand covered till the next day ; then pour off 
and boil again same as before, for four days ; then put 
all into a vessel and simmer half an hour ; take out the 
fruit and let the syrup boil half an hour longer ; pour it 
on the fruit and it is done. Cherries, gooseberries, plums, 
apples, melon-rinds, &c., &c., can be spiced in the same 
way, adding a little more sugar to the more acid fruits. 
Look at your canned fruit every day for a week, to see 
that your corks are tight. 

CAimED Quinces. — Pare, quarter and core them ; then 
take the parings and cores, free from rotten specks, and 
boil in water enough to cover them, one hour ; strain 
through a jelly-bag, and add to this liquor half a pound 
of sugar to each pound of fruit ; put in your quinces and 
cook till quite soft ; seal in glass jars. 

Apple Jelly. — ^Wash tart apples, take out the stem 
and blossom 5 slice, and add just enough water to cover 
them ; let them boil tender j strain through a jelly-bag 5 
add one pound of sugar to a pint of juice ; boil briskly 
till it jellies, stirring all the time ; put in glasses and 
cover with thick white paper. If not as thick as wished, 
set the glasses in the sun for a few days. 

Quince Jelly. — Prepare the quinces just like the 
apple. 

Currant Jelly. — Pick over the currants with care, 
put them in a stone jar, and set it in a kettle of boiling 
water ; let it boil till the fruit is very soft 5 strain through 
a sieve, then through a jelly -bag 5 add a pound of white 
sugar to every pint of juice, and boil all together five 
minutes 5 put in glasses and set in the sun a few days. 



22 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

Jams. — ^Blackberries, currants, raspberries, gooseber- 
ries, &c., can be made into jams by adding tliree-fourths 
of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, and boiling till 
stiff. 

Citron Melon Preserve. — Cut in pieces the size 
you wish, take out the soft center and seeds, pare off the 
green rind and throw the pieces in cold water ; let it 
stand over night. On the following day, boil in water 
enough to cover them, twenty minutes, adding alum the 
size of a walnut to each gallon of water, to green them. 
Then soak four hours in cold water, pour off and drain ; 
then add three-fourths of a pound of sugar to a pound 
of fruit ; add sliced lemon and race ginger to taste ; 
boil till clear. By using a pound of sugar to a pound of 
fruit, cooking well and drying, you can have good dried 
citron for cake. 

To Clarify Sugar for Preserving. — For each 
pound of sugar allow half a pint of water ; for every 
three pounds of sugar the white of one egg. Mix when 
cold ; boil a few minutes and skim it j let it stand ten 
minutes, skim again, and strain it. 

Apple-Butter — ^To keep without sealing, must be 
made of sweet cider, boiled down one-half. This is too 
strong to be palatable, and a better way is to boil the 
cider down one-third, and seal in half-gallon jugs. If 
cider is scarce, a fine apple-butter can be made by boiling 
ten gallons of cider one-half; then add one gallon of best 
molasses. A mellow, sweet apple that will cook is best. To 
save time in making, stew your apples in cider, and skim 
out as fast as done, while your, cider is boiling down ; 
commence stirring as soon as you put in the apples j boil 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 23 

to a thick jelly, and put in spices, half an ounce to the 
gallon, to suit taste, half an hour before done. 

Tomato-Butter. — Take large, ripe tomatoes, wash 
clean, drain and slice j stew till quite tender, and strain 
through sieve ; add half a pound of sugar to every pint 
of pulp ; boil, stir, and spice as apple butter. (Many per- 
sons think it better.) 

Peach Marmalade. — Pare and seed your peaches ; to 
every pound of fruit add half a pound of sugar ; boil till 
quite stiff, stirring like apple-butter; seal in half gallon 
jars. 

To Seal Large Jars. — Take a piece of white writing 
paper and place it over the top of the jar, and allow two 
inches more than covers it. Then cut four pieces of the 
same size ; make a good paste with flour; have your jars 
scalded with hot water ; fill in your apple butter or mar- 
malade hot ; paste round the first piece of paper where 
it touches the jar, then paste the paper all over, top and 
sides j then paste again, until you have put on four pieces 
of paper, leaving the outside of the top piece unpasted. 
If done right it will be effectually sealed. 

Tomato Catsup. — Take one bushel of tomatoes, wash, 
slice and stew them till they are soft; squeeze them 
through a fine wire sieve, and add half a gallon of the 
best vinegar, one and a half pints of salt, two ounces of 
cloves, four ounces of allspice, three tablespoons of black 
pepper ; mix all together and boil about three hours, or 
till it is reduced about one-half, then bottle without 
straining, and seal. 

Cucumber Catsup. — Take half a peck of young cu- 
cumbers (long pickling the bestj, pare and chop fine ; to 



24 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

every pint add a tablespoon of salt, and let it stand over 
night ; in the morning drain through a coarse cloth, and 
add six finely chopped onions, a dessert-spoon of pepper, 
and as much best cider vinegar as will make it quite 
moist ; bottle and seal in half-pint jars. 

Canned Toimatoes. — Scald just enough to skin ; when 
skinned, put in a cullender and drain 5 put in a kettle 
and let them boil half an hour ; then i)ut into hot cans 
or jars and seal tight. All kinds of fruit, stewed and 
sweetened as for the table, and sealed up hot, may be 
kept as well as preserves. 



PICKLES. 

Pickle Toiviatoes. — As they are gathered throw them 
into cold vinegar ; when you have enough take them out 
and scald some spices tied in a bag, in good vinegar, and 
pour it hot over them ; a few slices of onions will improve 
them. 

Pickle Onions. — Peel and boil in milk and water ten 
minutes, then drain off and pour scalding spiced vinegar 
over them. 

Pickle Damsons. — To one gallon of damsons take one 
quart of strong vinegar and three pounds of sugar, some 
cloves and mace; place the damsons in a jar; boil the 
sugar, spices and vinegar together, and while boiling hot 
pour it over them ; do this four successive mornings, 
and on the fifth boil all together and they are ready for 
use. 

Pickle Peppers. — Carefully remove the seeds from 
green peppers, so as not to mangle them, soak them four 
days in salt and water j before pickling soak them well in 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 25 

fresh water, stuff tliem with chopped cabbage, seasoned 
with cloves, cinnamon and mace ; let the vinegar come to 
a boil and pour it over them. 

Pickle Eed Cabbage. — Take two firm heads, remove 
outside leaves, cut very fine and mix in half a cup of salt, 
tie up in a thin cloth and let it hang three hours to drain ; 
then put in a jar ; boil in a quart of good vinegar, three 
bits of race ginger, one pod red pepper, one onion, a quarter 
of an ounce of cloves, and pour on hot. 

PiCEXE Cucumbers. — Have the salt soaked out by- 
changing the water frequently ; to every gallon of good 
cider vinegar add a cup of sugar, alum the size of a hickory 
nut, some cayenne pepper, one ounce of cloves j let them 
come to a scald ; bottle, or put in stone jars. 

Family Yinegar. — Take five gallons of warm rain 
water, one gallon of molasses and two quarts of good 
yeast ; keep in open vessel, and in four weeks you will 
have good vinegar : add, to keep your supply, in the same 
proportion, water and molasses. 

Cider Yinegar. — To make cider into vinegar never 
have your barrel more than half full, and add to it one- 
fourth part of soft water j leave the bung open for free air, 
covered with gauze ; keep in a warm place, and where it 
will not freeze : two quarts of good yeast should be added 
to a barrel. 

Cherry Yinegar for Sumiher Drinks. — ^To six 
quarts of cherries (broken up) add two quarts of vinegar; 
let it stand three days ; then strain through a jelly bag, 
and to one pint of juice add three-quarters of a pound 
of white sugar ; boil twelve minutes and skim ; one gill of 
the above, added to a tumbler of water, makes a very 
pleasant drink for summer. 



26 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

Easpberry YmEGAR. — ^Pour one quart of vinegar on 
one quart of raspberries ; the next day strain it through 
a sieve on another quart of berries ; continue this process 
for five or six days. Then to every pint of juice add one 
pound of white sugar; put it in a jar and set it in a vessel 
of boiling water until it is thoroughly scalded ; then bottle 
for use. Blackberries, or any other acid fruit, can be 
used in the same way. 

Ginger Beer. — Take two gallons of water, two pounds 
of sugar, and two ounces of ginger ; boil one hour and 
skim ; pour into a vessel and add one sliced lemon and 
half an ounce of cream tartar ; when nearly cold add a cup 
of yeast ; when fermentation ceases bottle tight and tie 
down the corks. 



DOMESTIC WINES. 

Elderberry Wine. — To every gallon of ripe berries 
add one gallon of water ; let it stand one day, often stir- 
ring ; then put them in a copper kettle and boil well half 
an hour j take off and strain ; put the juice into the kettle 
a second time, and to each gallon add three and a half 
pounds of moist sugar ; boil it half an hour, and, within 
the last five minutes, add, tied in muslin, four ounces each 
of bruised or race ginger and allspice to every ten gallons ; 
then take out the spice, and when cool add a gill of good 
yeast to each gallon : when fermentation ceases put it into 
a cask or jugs, bung it down closely, and let it stand three 
or four months, and it is fit for bottling and use. A few 
damsons added give the wine the roughness of Port. 
This is an excellent wine for invalids. 

Currant Wine. — Take one part of currant juice to 
three parts of water, and stir in sugar until it wiU float an 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 27 

egg ; put it in a cask and keep the vessel full until fer- 
mentation ceases ; then bung it down closely 5 rack it off 
in February or March. 

Blackberry Wine. — To every gallon of fruit add three 
quarts of boiling water 5 let it stand twenty -four hours, 
stirring occasionally ; strain off the liquor into a cask, first 
adding two pounds of sugar to each gallon of juice ; cork 
tight and let it stand until the following October. 

Grape WrN:E. — To each gallon of bruised grapes, per- 
fectly ripe, add one gallon of water, and let it remain a 
week without stirring ; then draw off the liquor carefully, 
and to each gallon add three pounds of lump sugar j when 
fermentation ceases cork it down tight, and in six months 
it will be fit to bottle. 



HOUSEKEEPERS' DEPARTMENT. 



COLORING. 



The quantity of coloring material given below is cal- 
culated for two pounds of goods, except the pink, which 
is intended for ribbons, &c. 

Yellow. — Boil water enough to cover the goods, put 
in a half pound of curcuma, one ounce cream-tartar and 
three table spoons of muriate of tin. Boil the goods in 
this five minutes and it is done. To make orange color, 
boil ten minutes. 

Green. — Use the yellow dye 5 rinse out the yellow 
goods, put back the rinsing water into the dye-kettle and 
add half pound fustic, and three ounces alum. Boil 
thirty minutes j then put in two tablespoons of chemic 
blue ; put in the goods and let them boil five minutes. 
To make the goods bottle green, boil ten minutes. 

Scarlet. — Boil water enough to cover the goods, put 
in five ounces lac-dye, two ounces cream-tartar, six table- 
spoons of muriate of tin. Boil the goods from five to 
twenty-five minutes, till the color suits your fancy. Brass 
or tin kettles should be used. 

Pink, or Light Silks. — Boil water enough to cover the 
goods, then put in one teaspoonful of cochineal, pulver- 
ized, one teaspoon cream-tartar, and one teaspoon of mu- 
riate of tin. Boil the goods from one to ten minutes, 
n til the color suits. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 29 

Orange. — Take three ounces of annatto, tie in a strong 
muslin bag, wash out the color, as you would indigo, into 
a kettle of strong soap suds or weak pearlash water, put 
in the goods, simmer and stir half an hour, rinse well 
and starch if needed ; dry in the shade. This process 
can be repeated every time the garment needs washing ; 
wash out a little at a time and save the bag for future 
use. Old sheets or faded muslins colored in this way 
make good curtain linings. Faded lawns and ribbons, 
colored in this way, look well. 

Black. — For three pounds of yarn or goods, take two 
ounces of extract of logwood, two ounces of vitriol and 
two ounces of madder j put the madder and logwood in 
a brass or copper kettle, with sufficient soft water to 
cover the goods well, then add to the vitriol in another 
vessel, sufiicient water to cover the goods j simmer and 
stir in the* vitriol water half an hour 5 then hang out and 
drain well. ^Tien your logwood and madder are thor- 
oughly dissolved and hot, put in your goods, stirring and 
lifting frequently for the air ; hang out over night in the 
dye, then rinse them in hard water and dry again j then 
scour in warm suds. 

Chemic Blue — how to make. — Take one ounce best 
pulverized indigo, put eight ounces of sulphuric acid in 
a pitcher, add the indigo to the acid slowly, stirring with 
a stick 5 let it stand two days, then bottle and it is ready 
for use. Don't get it on your clothing. 

Family Dyes, to be had at the drug stores, are valu- 
able for coloring ribbons and small pieces of silk. Rib-' 
bons should be washed in clean suds and not rinsed. You 
cannot color a dark color light. 



30 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

To Clean Paint. — Take common whiting and mix 
with warm water to a paste — dip a flannel cloth in this 
and rub the paint briskly, then wash off with clean, cold 
water, and your paint will retain its beauty unimpaired. 

To Clean Carpets. — Two tablespoonsfiil of ammonia 
added to a half gallon of warm water, rubbed on with a 
sponge, will often restore the color of carpets when taken 
out by acids or alkalies. Another way is to add a pint of 
ox-gall to two gallons of water, and use in the same way. 
This is enough for a large carpet, and gives it a bright, 
fresh look. 

Oil Paintings may be wiped with luke-warm water 
and a soft sponge, and dried with a soft cloth. 

Oil Blinds must be stretched out on a table, held 
firmly and washed quickly with mild, tepid soapsuds 
and wiped dry. 

A FRESH EGa will siuk in water. To preserve eggs 
in winter, grease them well, and pack them in salt, small 
end down. 

To REMOVE PANES OF GLASS, without injuring the sash, 
apply soft soap to the putty. In a short time it will be- 
come so softened as to be easily removed. 

To DRIVE NAILS in hard wood, dip the points in oil or 
grease. 

To EXTRACT PAINT FROM CLOTH. — When it is dried on, 
saturate the spot with spirits of turpentine, and let it re- 
main several hours, then rub it between the hands. 

How TO EXAMINE Wells. — Placc a looking-glass over 
the well in such a manner as to throw the rays of the 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 31 

sun to the bottom of the well, and you can see the smallest 
pebble. Morning and afternoon are the best times for 
this purpose. 

Neyer go into a well to clean until you have let down 
a lighted torch or candle. If it goes out it is unsafe. 
Throw in burning chunks or fresh lime, to expel the foul 
air. 

Black Calicoes, when rusty, may be restored by 
dipping in a weak solution of copperas-water. 

To WASH CALICO WITHOUT FADiNO. — lufuse three gills 
of salt in a gallon of water j put the calico in while hot, 
and leave it until cold, and in this way the colors are 
rendered permanent, and will not fade by subsequent 
washing. 

To SOFTEN HARD WATER. — Add <me tables^oonful of 
borax to every gallon of water, and it will render it soft 
as rainwater. 

To MAKE Soap. — Dissolve in one gallon of hot water 
six pounds of potash, four pounds of lard or tallow, one- 
fourth pound rosin j let it stand four days. When well 
dissolved, add ten gallons of warm, soft water, and you 
have one hundred pounds of the best soap. 

Furniture Polish. — An ounce of Yenice turpentine 
dissolved in half a pint of alcohol, applied with a brush 
or woolen rag. 

Ants. — Coal oil spread round their nests with a feather 
will soon scatter them. 



32 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 

All lovers of flowers should have a small hot-bed in 
which to plant the seeds of Annuals and Dahlias, Tube 
Eose and Gladiolus, as the season is too short to enjoy 
them without. 

There is nothing more beautiful for the yard or garden 
than the Fish Geranium. They are easily propagated 
from seed and slips, and easily kept in winter by taking 
up in the fall, before frost, and hanging them in the cellar, 
root upward, till spring. 

Mildew on Roses — Can be effectually cured by apply- 
ing soap suds or old brine with a brush. The Green Bug 
or Rose Pest may be destroyed by sprinkling the plant 
with Scotch snuff from a fine pepper-box, and showering 
the bushes an hour after. 

Plants in Winter — Should be watered with warm 
water, almost hot to the touch, through a fine nosed water- 
ing pot, held high above the plants j this will keep them 
looking green and fresh. 

Tulips. — If you want them to bloom in the spring, 
plant in the fall, in a rich bed, and cover with manure j 
to increase your beds take up the bulbs every other year, 
plant the small bulbs in new beds about one foot apart, 
set pretty deep and cover with manure. All tuberous and 
fibrous roots can be increased by taking up in the fall and 
dividing the roots j shoots fr^om roses can be done in the 
same way. 

PRUNiNa Trees. — The last of February is the best time 
for pruning trees, vines and shrubbery. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 



33 



Farmers' and Gardeners' Table. — Showing the 
number of hills, plants, or trees contained in an acre of 
ground, at any given distance, from one to forty feet apart : 



40 feet apart will take 27 



33 




25 




20 




15 




12 




10 





27 


8 feet 


apart will take 


40 


6 " 


(( (( (( 


69 


4 " 


(( (( <( 


108 


3 " 


(( 11 li 


193 


2 " 


n (< « 


302 


H" 


<l l( (( 


435 


] " 


« (< <( 



680 

1,208 

2,720 

4,840 

10,890 

19,360 

43,560 



GARDENING. 

Early GardeninGt. — To have an early garden, cover 
your ground with well rotted manure, and plough deep in 
the fallj and throw up in ridges ; at the same time, in the 
sunniest part of the ground sow some radish and lettuce 
seed, and plant a few onion setts ; also a few rows of pota- 
toes, protected with straw and manure. 

Plant Tomatoes in hills, and tie up to stakes, pinch- 
ing off the top branches. The Tilden is a new variety, 
smooth and solid, and said to be very good. Tomato 
plants are not safe from frost unless protected, if set before 
the 20th of May. 

Peas. — If you have no means to stick them, plant the 
Tom Thumb variety j they are very productive, and need 
no sticking j they should be planted as soon as the ground 
can be worked. 

Melons. — To raise fine melons, dig holes two feet deep 
and five feet in circumference j half fill the holes with well 
rotted manure, make the hills pretty high with rich leaf- 
mould j leave but two or three plants in a hill. The hills 
should be seven or eight feet apart. 



34 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

Extra Early Peas — Planted the first of August will 
give you fine peas late in the fall. If you wish fresh veget- 
ables till late in the fall, plant every two weeks till the 
middle of July ; the first of July is early enough to plant 
cucumbers and melons for mangoes or pickles. 

Sweet Potatoes. — Sprout in hot-bed 5 half a peck, 
well sprouted, will raise twelve bushels. The first of June 
is early enough to set out the plants 5 soil should be deep 
and mellow ; plant in rows, one foot apart, a little deeper 
than they stood in the hQt-bed : water, if dry. 

Irish Potatoes. — Plant early (to raise a good crop); 
select large potatoes and cut in pieces ; if scarce, cut the 
eyes out deep, and save the balance for family use ; plant 
the eyes ten inches apart. Never hoe them when wet 
with rain or dew ; it kills the vines before the crop matures. 

Sun Flowers. — If you wish to keep off fever and ague, 
plant sun flowers around your house ; the seed is good for 
birds and chickens. If you want the fragrance of " Cey- 
lon^s Isle," plant the wild plum and crab apple. 

A piece of land, 220 feet long and 198 feet wide, contains 
an acre ; a square acre is a fraction less than 209 feet each 
way. 

An acre of ground, judiciously planted, will raise all 
the fruit, berries and vegetables any family can use. 

Insects on Veoetables. — A gardener says, a giU of 
coal oil, stirred through a gallon of water, and showered 
on plants through a watering pot, will soon cause them to 
travel. This may be a remedy for that great pest, the 
potato bug. It is worth trying. 

Coal Tar — Applied to the bottom of posts, hot, when 
set in the ground, renders them almost imperishable. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 35 

To Dry Fruit well you should have a small room, 
surrounded with shelves, and furnished with a stove or 
fiimace. 

Cider — To keep sweet all the year, must be made from 
sound apples j let it stand until well settled, but don't let 
it ferment. Draw off into gallon jugs or bottles, put to 
each gallon a dozen raisins and a teaspoonful of mustard 
seed J cork tight and seal, and keep in a cool place. 



FRUIT DEPARTMENT. 



HOW TO PLANT FRUIT TREES. 

Select a sheltered position for an orchard. The best 
months for transplanting ftnit and ornamental trees are 
October and ISTovember in the fall, and March and April 
in the spring. Peach orchards, while young, should be 
kept in crops of corn or potatoes until the trees are so 
large that the raising of crops is unprofitable j after that 
the orchard should be plowed at least once a year, (better 
twice), so as to keep it entirely free from weeds and grass. 
For transplanting trees the earth should be mellow and 
dry ; for a moderate sized tree the hole should be three 
and a half feet in diameter and eighteen inches deep ; 
always large enough to receive all the roots without bend- 
ing. All bruised and broken roots should be removed 
(before planting) with a sharp knife, by cutting clean from 
the under side. Care should be taken to have the earth 
as fine as possible, and to fill up vacancies about the roots. 
Shake the tree gently, but do not draw it up while the 
earth is being thrown in. 

Apples thrive best upon rich loamy soil, forty feet apart, 
but will grow upon almost any soil. 

Pears thrive in a clayey soil, with deep and thorough 
stirring. 

Cherry. — ^Plant only upon dry, warm situations, 
sandy, gravelly, stony or loamy. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. i7 

Peaches do best in sandy loam, gravelly or stony land, 
twenty feet apart, and even upon quite poor land, fifteen 
feet apart. 

Plums do best on clayey loam. 

Quinces, also, do best on ricb clayey loam, and kept 
well stirred. 

Grapes delight in being well manured, and do best, as 
do likewise all berries and small fruits, on a strong loam, 
dry and rich. A south-east exposure is considered best. 
Grapes should have an annual dressing of dried muck, 
wood ashes and lime, well mixed. In February the new 
growth should be cut back to three or four eyes. Among 
the most desirable varieties are the Concord, Hartford, 
Catawba, Prolific, Diana and Delaware. 

Grapes are easily propagated from cuttings of the last 
yearns growth. They should be cut off in February, two 
feet in length, and put in bundles, and buried immediately 
six inches deep. For this purpose select the warmest 
weather in the month. Let them remain in the ground 
until the first of May ; then take them up and plant in 
rows, in a sloping position, in a rather shady situation, 
leaving the upper bud a few inches above ground. In 
this way nearly every cutting will grow. After a year or 
two, transplant carefully where you want them. 

For small vineyards there should be trenches, two or 
three feet deepj for large ones, subsoiling will answer-. 
Plant cuttings ten feet apart, set in the vineyard, staking 
first 5 and, to insure success from cuttings, plant two at 
each stake 5 remove one, if both grow. 

Gooseberries and Currants should be planted five 
feet apart, in the spring, pinching off the eyes below the 



38 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

ground. Keep free from weeds, and wet frequently with 
soap-suds ; they should not be planted in the shade. To 
propagate, cut slips and plant early in the spring. 

Easpberries require a strong, deep loam, with but 
little sand, in a moist, cool, situation, or shade of a fence. 
The plants, when set out, should be trimmed at the top, 
and planted early in the spring, three feet apart, and not 
very deep. Best varieties are Eed Antwerp, Fastolf, 
Franconi, Ejievett's Giant, American Black Cap. 

Strawberries. — ^Make your beds deep and mellow 
with leaf-mould or vegetable compost, take the first run- 
ners from the old plant, when well set ; plant in rows three 
feet apart, setting the plants about eighteen inches from 
each other. April is the best time for transplanting, but 
any time will do, if the ground and weather are wet 5 some 
gardeners prefer July. Keep the ground free from weeds 
by covering about the plants with tan or leached ashes, 
and protect in winter with straw or corn-fodder. New 
land, just cleared, will produce the largest crop, but they 
can be grown on any land, if deep, rich and well drained. 
When making new beds, if the plants are in your garden, 
lift carefully with a trowel, taking as much earth up with 
them as you can. When in bloom, if the weather is dry, 
water freely — a slight sprinkle will not do. 

The newest and best varieties are Wilson's Albany, 
Agriculturist, Jucunda or Knox's 700. 

N. B. — There has been a strawberry called the BoUD- 
NOT, experimented upon and brought to perfection this 
season, (1867) by Mr. Merryman, of Granville, Licking 
county, Ohio, which promises, for productiveness, size 
and flavor, to be the most desirable yet cultivated in the 
United States. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 39 

Blackberries. — This is a very desirable fruit ; every 
one who owns an acre of land might raise their own. The 
Lawton is a new variety, and very productive, and de- 
lights in a deep, rich soil. The ground should be sub- 
soiled before planting. It should be manured well in the 
fall, and forked in between the rows in the spring. The 
rows should be six feet apart, and the plants should not 
be allowed to grow more than four feet high. When well 
cultivated, they will produce two hundred bushels to the 
acre. 

Grafting and Budding. — Select your grafts from 
branches which have borne fruit the previous season 5 for 
budding, select from those which have fruit on themj put 
the bud on the north side of the tree, removing the wood 
from the bud ; bud in damp weather, evening and morning. 
The pear may be budded in June, the peach in September ; 
^ grafts lor cherry or plum should not be cutlater than the 
middle of February. 

Grafting Wax. — Take one pound of tallow, four pounds 
of rosin, and two pounds of beeswax, (all clean articles), 
melt them all together, and when they come to a foam 
pour the whole into a tub of water 5 then, with greased 
hands, work it like shoemaker's wax. 

Old Fruit Trees. — Kever cut them down j trim the 
tops well, and cultivate, and enrich the roots j graft, and 
they will be as productive as in youth. The peach will 
last many years if kept closely pruned ; any sized tree can 
be removed by taking pains, and making the holes large 
and deep, and putting in rich soil ; the holes should be as 
large in circumference as the roots of the tree, and two 
feet deep. Instead of staking, a better plan is to ballast 
with stone, even quite large ones; never plant a tree 
deeper than it stopd in the ground before. 



40 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

CuRCULio. — To be successful in raising plums, keep tlie 
ground loose and free from weeds until the tree is ready 
to bear -, then pound the earth hard round the tree, and 
admit, during the fruit season, hogs and poultry. 

Peach BoRER.^In May remove the earth from the 
tree and hunt out and kill the borer j then apply ashes or 
slaked lime, and replace the earth. Wash the trunk of 
the tree in May and. Septem-ber in strong soap-suds. 
Garlick or tansy planted at the root of the tree is said to 
13revent the borer. 

MuLCHiNGr is covering the earth around the roots of 
trees or plants with tan, sawdust, straw, or sods turned 
upside down. Trees just planted should always be mulched. 

It is worth knowing that in England many farmers 
more than support their families on six acres of land, 
beside i^aying heavy rents; and in Germany on five acres, 
beside laying up money. 



FARMERS' DEPARTMENT. 



Grass and Grain. — ^Farmers lose a great deal of nutri- 
ment by allowing their grass and grain to get too ripe 
before cutting. 

]VlANURES. — Their value consists in their divisibility 
through the soil. Small quantities of manure, thoroughly 
intermingled with the soil, should be the farmer's rule. 

Clover as a Manure. — 'No green crop is so serviceable 
as a manure. The second crop of the early variety should 
be saved for seed. 

Manuring Wheat. — When manure or lime is applied 
to wheat-land, it should not be plowed in, but spread 
upon the surface, and harrowed in. 

Eelative Value of Pork and Corn. — Assuming 
that it takes six and two-thirds pounds of com to make 
one pound of pork, the cost of its production will be seen 
by the following estimate. The labor and trouble of feed- 
ing and taking care of the hogs is not included : 

When corn costs 12^ cents per bushel, pork costs 1:^ cents per pound. 

(( (< Q;- (( U (( <( O <( (( 

(( « OO (( (( <( '' 4 ' <' " 

« (< An (( (( (( << K (( (( 

Three and a half pounds of cooked meal make one 
pound of pork. Five pounds of corn will make one pound 
of beef. 



42 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

Cooked Food for Cows. — If you want your cows to 
give rich milk and make yellow butter in winter, coolc their 
food. Pumpkins and carrots are said to be tlie best food 
for butter and cheese. K a cow is allowed to go dry too 
long, with her first calf, the evil can never be remedied. 



ROOT CROPS. 

Turnips fed directly after milking will not effect 
the milk; the rutabaga turnips, carrots and pumpkins 
are good for all kinds of stock. Farmers pay too little 
attention to this crop ) a great deal of hay, corn and money 
may be saved by attention to it. There is nothing better 
for milk cows than sugar beets. Professor Mapes says : 
" Eoot crops are valuable mixed with cut straw or hay, 
rendering them soluble.'' 

Butter. — A farmer says he has experimented for six- 
teen years to ascertain the best method of feeding to pro- 
duce the greatest quantity of butter, and has found it to 
be in the winter, when the cows were fed on meal and 
roots, and least when the cows have been turned on grass 
in the spring. 

Hay for Cows in Sumjvier. — When cows become 
bloated on grass in warm, wet weather, they should be fed 
once a day with dry hay, as it absorbs the fluids and 
benefits the cows. 

Fattening Fowls. — One-half the quantity of food can 
be saved by giving plenty of charcoal. Boiled potatoes, 
cracked corn, scraps of fresh meat, and plenty of tresh 
water, will make them lay eggs in winter. Lime should 
occasionally be scattered about the poultry house and 
yard J it will keep your fowls clear of vermin and in a 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 43 

healthy condition j on the droppings, however, sulphate of 
lime, (common plaster), ashes or dried muck should be 
thrown. 

Poultry for Market. — Leave the entrails in ; after 
taking off the feathers, dip alternately into hot and cold 
water j this done several times gives them a plump ap- 
pearance. 

Eggs which approach the nearest to roundness are said 
to produce females j those more pointed produce males. 

Fattening Cattle on Hay. — Grass, cut while it is in 
blossom and carefully made, will fatten cattle nearly as 
well in a dry as in a green state ; some of the best farmers 
are particular in making their hay for this purpose. 

Time to Cut Timber. — Cut timber from the middle of 
September to the middle of December, and you cannot get 
a worm into it ; October and November perhaps the best 
months ; and you will avoid worms and powder-post (as 
it is called). 

Scratching UP Corn. — Soak your seed corn in soft 
soap, then roll it in plaster Paris, or ashes, to facilitate 
'planting J crows will not touch it. 

To Measure Corn in the Crib. — ^Two cubic feet of 
good sound dry corn in the ear will make a bushel of 
shelled corn j hence, multiply the length and breadth to- 
gether, and that product by the height, gives the number 
of cubic feet in the crib, and this last product, divided by 
two, gives the number of bushels of shelled corn contained 
in the crib. 

To Eaise Buckwheat.--Sow from the 20th of June 
to the 4th of July ; (good crops have been raised sown the 



44 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

12th) ; best ground, a light loam, half a bushel of seed to 
the acre ; average yield, twenty-five bushels to the acre. 
If cut before frost the straw is fijie for sheep. 

What makes a Bushel. — The following table of the 
number of pounds of various articles to a bushel may be 
of interest : 



lbs. lbs. 



Wheat 60 

Corn, shelled 56 

" uusheUed 70 

Rye 56 

Oats 36 

Barley 46 

Buckwheat 56 

Onions 57 



Irisli potatoes 60 

Sweet " 50 

Bran 20 

Clover-seed 60 

Timothy-seed 45 

Blue grass 14 

Dried peaches 33 

Dried apples 24 



Trembles est Cattle is supposed to proceed from 
eating a poisonous weed. Drench with whisky and sweet 
oil or melted lard. 

Horses so fatigued that they will not eat may be re- 
vived by giving a pint of whisky in a gallon or two of 
water. 

Hoa Cholera. — It is believed that free access to char- 
coal and wood ashes will prevent this disease. Every 
farmer should occasionally burn a pile of logs where the 
hogs can get at it, or throw it in their pens. 

BoTTS IN Horses. — ^Dissolve two tablespoons of copper- 
as in one quart of warm water ; drench, and if not relieved 
in fifteen minutes repeat the dose ; in fifteen minutes more 
dose with one pint of molasses and one pint of soft soap, 
diluted with water. This is said never to have failed. 

Colic in Horses. — One pint of whisky, one ounce of 
peppermint, half a pint of warm water. 

Scratches in Horses may be cured by using the oil 
oft white lead. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 45 

Heayes in Horses may be cured by feeding them with 
cornstalks. 

Houses and Barns. — Every farmer can have a good 
house and barn, at a trifling cost, by purchasing a book 
published by Fowler and Wells, entitled " A Home for 
All," or by inquiries addressed to Wm. G. Barnard, Bell- 
aire, Ohio, learning how to build the concrete or gravel 
houses. Mr. B. has a barn fifty-two by thirty-eight feet, 
twenty feet to the eaves and thirty-two to main gable, 
containing horse and cow stables, carriage and wagon 
houses, harness, tools, cribs, chicken houses, and storage 
for any amount of hay and grainy is rat proof j has been 
built seven years ^ is hard as stone, and cost six hundred 
dollars. 

White-wash for OuT-BuiLDiNas or Fences. — Put 
in a large iron kettle ten pounds fresh slaked lime ; add 
as much boiling water as will make into a thick batter j 
then add four pounds of clean tallow; boil one hour, 
stirring often. For use, thin with hot water. 



MEDICAL. 



CHOLERA— ITS PREVENTIVES AND REMEDIES. 

This disease is supposed to have originated among pil- 
grims, making long and wearisome journeys through 
a desert country, without sufficient food, or water to satisfy 
thirst or purify their bodies or clothing. It has now 
become a periodical scourge ; and^ntemperance, filth, and 
irregularity of life still invite it, as it is that class of 
people which it generally attacks first j then it becomes 
epidemic, and the innocent suffer with the guilty. 

The following directions are given by the Eev. Cyrus 
Hamlin, long a resident missionary at Constantinople, 
where the cholera has prevailed extensively; also the 
experience and directions of many distinguished physi- 
cians in our own country. 

How TO PREVENT IT. — When the season for its preva- 
lence arrives, remove from your house and premises every 
thing impure, and scatter fresh slaked lime wherever there 
is any foul or decomposing substance. White-wash cellars 
and every place practicable. Where it would be incon- 
venient to use lime, dissolve one pound of copperas in 
three gallons of water, and sprinkle in sinks, chamber 
buckets, and every thing in need of purification. Admit 
the sun and air freely in your houses; air thoroughly 
your beds and bedding every morning ; and, above all, 
attend to personal cleanliness. A physician says cleanli- 
ness repels the disease, while filth invites it. Sponge or 
wash the body, on rising in the morning, at least three 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 47 

times a week, in cold or tepid water, rubbing dry with a 
coarse towel until the skin reddens. 

Diet. — If tbe disease should make its appearance sud- 
denly, change your diet as little as possible, as too much 
abstemiousness is as bad as excess. Quit those things 
which are indigestible, and substitute those which are not. 
A physician of large experience says he never knew an 
habitual good liver to have cholera j which does not mean 
you should overload the stomach, and then endeavor to 
promote digestion by drinking beer and poisonous whisky, 
which is certain to bring it on. 

Regularity in eating enough nutritious, well-cooked food 
to satisfy the appetite, may be called good living. A 
judicious cook could devise a great variety of soups, rice 
in various forms, farina, corn starch, and bread puddings ; 
besides meats of desirable kinds, and many vegetables. 
During its prevalence there should not be a free use of 
fruits, particularly green or over-ripe fruit. Cabbage, 
onions and cucumbers should be avoided. 

How TO TREAT IT. — Dr. Hamlin says : " On its ap- 
proach, every family should be prepared to treat them- 
selves, as the delay in waiting for a physician may prove 
fatal. If you prepare for it it will not come. I think 
there is no disease which may be avoided with so much 
certainty. At the same time, the imprudence of one mem- 
ber of a family may invite an attack, and the challenge 
wiU never be refused. The attack will probably be made 
in the night, and if not prepared to treat the case your- 
selves, it may prove fatal before a physician can be had." 

Causes of attack.—'^ In three-fourths of the cases it 
is traced directly to improper diet or intoxicating drinks, 
or both united j also, to a sudden check of perspiration, 
by sitting or sleeping in a current of air, and drinking too 
freely of cold water when hot or thirsty, and to great 



4:8 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

fatigue, anxiety and fear. To allay this unnecessary fear, 
every one should remember that it is not an incurable 
disease, nor the only one that destroys life, and should 
endeavor to cultivate a calm, resolute spirit and a firm 
trust in the wisdom and goodness of God." 

He also says ; " Where cholera prevails, nearly every 
one feels more or less disturbance of digestion, part of 
which is imaginary, as many having these symi:>toms do 
not have an attack j but when diarrhea does set in, no 
matter how slight or painless, attend to it promptly, for 
it is in reality the skirmishing party, and will prove fatal 
if not attended to. Many have committed suicide by such 
neglect. The attack seldom commences with vomiting; 
but no matter how it commences, it is sure to hold on. 

How TO ACT. — In case of an attack, give immediately, 
according to directions, the remedy you have decided to 
use ; then place the patient in bed, with sufficient blankets 
to induce gentle perspiration. If warm, it is a favorable 
symptom ; if not, jugs or bottles of hot water, wrapped in 
Hannel, must be put to the feet and sides. Eepeat and 
increase the dose, according to direction, every time the 
bowels are moved, as there is no danger of giving too 
much while they are moved. By no means allow the pa- 
tient to rise from the bed to attend to the calls of nature ; 
use bed pan or other appliances, as their lives may depend 
on the observance of this rule. They should lie as much 
as possible calmly and quietly on the back. Admit fresh 
air freely, but not on the patient, and fumigate the room 
frequently by a few grains of coffee on a hot shovel. 

If the diarrhea is not soon checked resort must be had 
to injections. Take a teacup of starch, as for starching 
linen, add to this a large teaspoonful of laudaiium ; give 
one-third of this every time the bowels are moved. If 
this does not check it add half a teaspoonful to each 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 49 

injection every time they are moved. Dr. Hamlin says 
he has saved patients after resorting to the seventh injec- 
tion. The diarrhea must be stopped, or the patient is 
lost. If there is, in addition, vomiting and cramps, there 
must be large mustard plasters applied to the stomach, 
bowels, calves of the legs and feet, and the jugs of hot 
water kept constantly renewed. Now is the time to give 
Dr. Hamlin's No. 2. 

Thirst. — There is gTeat thirst attending this disease, 
which must in no case be gratified to any extent. If ice 
cannot be had, you may allow them to rinse the mouth or 
gargle the throat with cold water. A spoonful at a time 
of gum arable water, or chamomile tea, as cold as it can 
be made, may be given. If possible, procure ice, break 
in small pieces, lay in a saucer, and pour over it a tea- 
spoonful of essence of cinnamon or peppermint 5 lift the 
ice with a spoon, taking up some of the water, and let it 
dissolve in the mouth without chewing. In this way you 
may give them all they want. Dr. Hall, in his Journal of 
Health, says he has known Asiatic cholera to be cured by 
using ice in this way. 

Collapse is simply an advanced stage of the disease, 
and indicates the failing of the powers of lifej but the 
blue color, the sunken eye, or the vanishing pulse, are no 
signs that the case is hopeless. Scores of such cases 
have recovered, and now is the time to double your dili- 
gence. In addition to No. 2, give a tablespoonful of 
brandy every half hour, rubbing the extremities briskly 
with hot spirits or hot flannels. These remedies will often, 
in an hour or two, work wonders. 

Diet. — ^Eice water, arrowroot, toast water, and chamo- 
mile tea, are the best articles for a day or two after the 
attack is controlled. The chamomile tea is valuable 
5 



50 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

in restoring the tone of the stomach. After this, rice 
browned and well boiled and eaten with sugar and nut- 
meg, or cream and sugar, is a palatable and safe diet in 
any bowel complaint. A typhoid state will, for a few 
days, often follow severe cases, but seldom proves fatal. 
Patience and careful nursing will soon bring all right. 
The greatest danger arises from drinking too freely, as 
thirst is often intense for twenty-four hours after the 
diarrhea is checked. Diminishing doses of 'No. 1 should 
be given every four hours — say 25, 20, 15 and 10 drops, 
to prevent a return. A spoonful of arrowroot added to 
the brandy, when the patient seems weak or sinking, is 
very beneficial. 

Contagion. — Dr. Hamlin says, those who are most 
with it are fully convinced that it is not contagious. A 
physician in New York, of large experience, says it is his 
opinion you may sleep with impunity beside an expiring 
patient. Another says: Let no one be deterred from 
doing their duty by the silly and cowardly idea that it is 
contagious ; that it is always safe to do your duty, and it 
is always your duty to aid your fellows to the utmost ex- 
tent of your ability. 

Dr. Hamlin says, with a hand-bag containing mixture 
No. 1, mixture No. 2, (for vomiting, etc.,) a few pounds of 
ground mustard, a bottle of brandy, a paper of chamo- 
mile flowers, and a paper of gum arable, you are perfect- 
ly armed and equipped to fight this disease. 

Those whose business calls them from home should 
carry a phial of these remedies or spirits of camphor, and 
a few lumps of sugar in their pocket, and when any un- 
pleasant feeling arises, take six drops on a lump of sugar. 
This will generally afford great relief, and may prevent 
an attack. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. " 51 

Persons nervous about this disease should neither read 
nor talk about it, or allow any one to do so in their pres- 
ence, as they often imagine themselves sick after hearing 
anything on the subject. 

]!!>[. B. Dr. Hamlin's remedies are worthy the highest 
confidence; he having witnessed their beneficial effects 
for many years. The compiler of this directory has im- 
plicit confidence in " New Orleans Remedy," from expe- 
rience where cholera has prevailed j and as it is very 
similar to Dr. Hamlin's No. 2, for severe cases, I have no 
hesitation in recommending it to the public as one of the 
very best remedies. But as I have no interest in either, 
except to do good, I leave every one to choose for them- 
selves 5 but would urge every family to have one or the 
other, or both, constantly on hand, and be ready for first 
symptoms, as in this depends your safety. 

Dr. Hamlin's No. 1 remedy for the incipient stages of 
cholera. Take equal parts of laudanum, spirits of camphor 
and tincture of rhubarb — thirty drops for an adult on a 
lump of sugar — ^repeat and increase the dose to 35, 40, 
45 and 60 drops at every movement of the bowels. When 
the diarrhea is checked, to prevent a return, diminishing 
doses should be given every four hours of 25, 20, 15 and 
10 drops. 

Dr. Hamlin's No. 2, (for vomiting, etc.) — ^Equal parts 
of laudanum, capsicum, tincture of ginger and tincture of 
cardamon seeds. Dose, 30 to 40 drops, or half a teaspoon- 
ful, to be increased according to the urgency of the case. 
In case the first dose should be thrown up, the second 
should stand ready to be given as soon as the vomiting 
has ceased. 

New Orleans Remedy. — Half ounce spirits camphor, 
half ounce oil cloves, half ounce pulverized red pepper, 
half ounce rhubarb, one drachm gum opium. Dissolve in 



52 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

four ounces HofQnan's Anodyne tincture. Dose — One 
teaspoonful in three tablespoonsM of sweetened water 
— repeat every time the bowels are moved. 

Dr. Eubini^s Camphor Eemedy. — It is credibly certi- 
fied that Dr. Eubini of Naples, has cured over five hun- 
dred cases of Asiatic cholera, without the loss of a single 
patient, in the following manner : Put the patient to bed 
and treat according to directions before given — adminis- 
tering nothing but the strongest spirits of camphor on a 
lump of sugar, as he says water destroys the effect of 
camphor. 

To an adult give four drops on a lump of sugar every 
five minutes. If the case is severe, give twenty drops 
every five minutes. If the patient is aged and accus- 
tomed to spirits, half a teaspoonfal every five minutes. 

As a preventive, he says: "Let those in health, living 
in the usual way, take five drops on a lump of sugar three 
times a day." 

!tir. B. While there is no cholera prevailing, and may 
be none, acquaint yourselves thoroughly with the mode 
of treating it. 



ACCIDENTS, Etc. 

Drowned Persons. — In taking them from the water, 
handle as gently as possible. Never roll on a barrel or 
hold up by the feet. This practice will destroy instead 
of restore life. If a house is near, carry immediately to 
it, and cut the clothing from the body, and wrap in warm 
blankets, and lay them on the right side, with the head 
slightly elevated. Then put warm bricks or jugs of hot 
water to the feet and back. Place the stem of a pipe or 
tube into one nostril, closing the other and the mouth 



FAMILY DIRECTORY., 53 

tight; blow vigorously into the pipe, and endeavor to 
inflate the lungs — rub the body at the same time with hot 
spirits or hot water, or with the hand. Place flannels 
wrung from hot water on the stomach. Admit plenty of 
fresh air. If possible, give a warm injection. These 
efforts should be continued for four or five hours, as per- 
sons have been restored after this length of time. When 
they revive, give a little warm brandy and water. 

SwiMMma. — Be careful where you bathe, as weeds or 
roots may entangle your feet, and cramp overtake the 
best swimmers. To save yourself from being drowned 
when trying to save others, get behind them and catch 
them between the shoulder and elbow. 

Frozen, or Stupieied with Cold. — Take the person 
into a cold room, admit plenty of fresh air, rub with snow, 
or sponge the body with cold water, then rub with the 
hand or hot flannel until warmth is restored. Frozen 
ears and limbs^ should be handled gently, and the cold 
bathing continued longer than when the whole body is 
affected. Give warm spirits to revive, and approach the 
heat gradually. 

LiGrHTNiNG. — 'Neyev stand, during a thunder-storm, un- 
der a tree, near a leaden spout, iron gate or pallisade. 
When stunned by lightning, shower the head freely and 
use friction over the whole body. 

Persons on Fire. — To save yourself and extinguish 
as soon as possible, catch up the first thing you can find, 
woolen rug or piece of carpet, stretch wide, hold high 
before you, and place it round the neck in front of the 
person on fire, lay them down immediately and put out 
with water, if near, or more clothing. 



54 FAMILY DIRECTOEY. 

BuENS on Scalds. — Cover tlie parts burned with flour 
or thick batter, spread on a cloth ; keep the outside wet 
with cold water until the pain ceases, then dress with 
simple cerate, linseed oil or gympson salve. If there is 
much inflammation, apply slippery-elm poultices. 

Cutting an Aetery. — ^Bandage tightly ahove the 
wound, to stop bleeding, close the wound and apply stick- 
ing plaster, or a piece of soft, wet leather, or a piece of 
stiff dough, and bandage tightly ; procure a physician as 
soon as possible. These directions attended to may save 
life. 

Antidotes foe Poisons. — ^If you have swallowed 
poison by mistake, or taken an over-dose of laudanum, or 
anything dangerous, mix and swallow immediately a des- 
sert spoonful of good mustard, in a tumbler of warm 
water. It acts speedily as an emetic, is always at hand, 
and may be used in any case with safety. No family 
should be without it, especially those living in the country. 
Sweet oil, melted butter or lard, or milk, or white of an 
eggj may also be taken with good effect. 

Hydeophobia and Snake Bites. — Bathe the wound 
constantly with spirits of hartshorn and take three or 
four doses a day inwardly, diluted. The hartshorn de- 
composes chemically, the virus, and destroys its deleteri- 
ous effects. Yarrow, or any bitter herb applied to the 
wound, and the free use of whisky, is the Indian remedy 
for snake bites. 

Hydeophobia. — ^Bathe the wound with warm vinegar 
and wipe dry, and pour on hydra-chloric acid. 

Speains. — Hops stewed in vinegar and thickened with 
bran or Indian meal, applied hot. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 55 

Ear Ache. — Drop a few drops of laudanum and sweet 
oil in the ear, and close with a piece of wool or cotton. 
If very severe, wring a flannel cloth from hot water and 
apply over the ear. 

Sick Head-Ache, or sick stomach, is often relieved 
by the use of hot lemonade. Soda and magnesia are both 
valuable for sick or acid stomach. 

Cancer. — A valuable medical work says : '^ one of the 
best applications in this disease, is a cranberry poultice. 
Sheep-sorrel made into a soft pulp is considered a good 
substitute." 

Erysipelas. — Purge the bowels freely, then give twen- 
ty drops tincture of iron every three hours, and apply 
cranberry poultice as soon as the disease appears. 

Tetter has been cured by the clear oil off of white 
lead. Crude petroleum from the well, has also cured se- 
vere cases. 



COUGHS, DIPTHERIA, RHEUMATISM, Etc. 

Couan Syrup i^o. 1. — One ounce boneset, one ounce 
slippery elm, one ounce stick liquorice, one ounce flax-seed ; 
simmer together in three pints of water until the strength 
is all out ; strain carefully, and add one pint of best mo- 
lasses and half a pound of loaf sugar ; simmer them well 
together until quite thick, and when cold bottle tight. 
Dose for grown person, one tablespoonful three times a 
day, or oftener, if required. Children less. 

Cough Syrup Ko. 2. — Take equal parts of spignet, 
comfrey, elecampane, wild cherry bark, and hoarhound ; 
boil in three pints of water for one hour ; strain, and add 
two ounces of liquorice and honey, or white sugar, to make 



56 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

a thick syrup ; boil again half an hour, and bottle for use. 
This has cured persons supposed to be in consumptictn. 
Use morning and evening, a glass of milk warm from the 
cow. A gentleman who has suffered from a cough at 
night has experienced great relief from eating a piece of 
raw onion before going to bed. 

Bronchitis. — Mullen leaves, dried and smoked in a 
pipe, have cured severe cases. For hoarseness and op- 
pression of the lungs a few drops of tar dropped on these 
leaves, or on a coal and smoked, afford great relief. 

Asthma. — Take printing jpaper, saturate it with strong 
saltpetre water ,• when dry, burn slowly in your room, with 
doors shut, inhaling as much of the fumes as possible. 
This often affords great relief. 

Bleeding of the Lungs. — Eat salt or dissolve alum 
in the mouth. 

Bleeding at the IsTose. — A piece of ice laid upon the 
wrist, or cold water showered on the same. 

Scrofula. — Put one ounce of aquafortis in a bowl or 
saucer, drop into it two copper cents ; when the efferves- 
cence ceases add two ounces of strong vinegar ; the fluid 
will be a dark green color. Apply morning and evening 
with a soft brush. It should and will smart ; if too severe, 
add a little rain water. 

Consumption. — Persons inclined to this disease should 
eat as much fat meat as possible ; also use all the cream 
they can ; if spirits are used put them in sweetened cream. 

Inflammations are more readily and agreeably sub- 
dued with hot than with cold applications. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 57 

Croup. — Every family should keep syrup of ipecac, or 
hive syrup, with proper directions as to quantity to pro- 
duce vomiting; sponge the breast and throat with cold 
water; then wrap in flannel. Whatever remedies are 
used must be promptly applied, as it admits of no delay. 

DiPTHERiA. — The following recipe is from a physician 
who says that out of one thousand cases in which it has 
been used, not a single patient has been lost. The treat- 
ment consists in thoroughly swabbing the back of the 
mouth and throat with a wash made thus : Table salt, 
two drachms ; black pepper, golden seal, nitrate of potash, 
alum, one drachm each ; mix and pulverize ; put into a 
teacup, which half fill with boiling water ; stir well ; then 
fill up with good vinegar ; use every half hour j then, one, 
two and four hours, as recovery progresses. The patient 
may swallow a little each time. Apply one ounce each of 
spirits of turpentine, sweet oil, and aqua ammonia, mixed, 
to the whole of the throat, and to the breast bone, every 
four hours, keeping flannel to the parts. 

Scarlet Fever. — As soon as you know it to be this, 
rub the whole body morning and evening with fat bacon, 
slowly and thoroughly ; apply to the throat a poultice of 
onions, fried in fat; sweet oil and honey simmered to- 
gether, a teaspoonful at a time, is also good ; gargle the 
throat, or swab with strong sage tea, with a little sal- 
ammonia and honey. 

Measles. — This disease can generally be detected by 
redness of the eyes, running at the nose, and a hacking 
cough. Care should be taken that persons with these 
symptoms should not take cold. Bathe the feet, avoid a 
current of air, give warm toddy or saffron tea. If there 
is much cough give freely Cough Syrup No. 1 or Jayne's 
Expectorant. 



58 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

WHOOPma Cough.— Clothe your children well, and, if 
in winter, put flannel next the skin ; rub the throat, breast 
and spine with equal parts of sweet oil and turpentine 5 
give, three or four times a day, a teaspoonful of cough 
mixture No. 1, or Jayne's Expectorant. 

Sciatica, or Gout of the Hip. — This distressing 
disease can be cured in the following manner : Make a 
bag, a quarter of a yard quare, of double flannel, fill it 
half full of hops, then throw a gill of ground mustard into 
a gallon of boiliug water ; wring from this water the hop 
bag as hot as possible and apply to the part affected, 
covering with thick flannel to keep in the heat and to pre- 
vent the clothing from getting wet. Do this as often as 
it cools, until relieved ; then apply the liniment for neural- 
gia and rheumatism (on this page) three times a day, 
rubbing in well. Then take as much quinine as the sys- 
tem will bear, which should be directed by a physician ; 
keep the bowels gently open with Eochelle salts ; take a 
nervine to induce sleep ; avoid opiates as much as possi- 
ble ; time and patience will accomplish the work. 

Inflammatory Eheumatism. — A poultice of stewed 
pumpkin is said to be an infallible remedy for this disease. 
Change the poultice every half hour. A physician says 
there may possibly be some virtue in the pumpkin, but 
thinks any thing that will hold hot water will do as well. 
The hop bag prescribed for sciatica, when no pumpkins 
can be had, will be found a good substitute. 

Liniment for Eheumatism and Neuralgia. — Take 
two ounces each of organum, spirits turpentine and spirits 
of ammonia 5 one ounce each of olive oil and laudanum, 
and half an ounce of pulverized gum camphor ; mix thor- 
oughly, and apply two or three times a day. This is also 
an excellent remedy for sprains, etc., in horses. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 59 

Toe Kails. — To prevent them from growing into the 
flesh, drop three or four drops of hot tallow on the nail, 
close to the part effected ; in paring the nails curve them 
in the centre. 

Cramp. — Get upon your feet as soon as possible; if 
this does not relieve, wrap the limb with a cold wet cloth. 

Ringworm. — Citron ointment is the best remedy for 
ringworm or any watery humour. 

Constipation of the Bowels. — Instead of active 
purgatives, take a dessert spoonful of flax seed in half a 
tumbler of water, three times a day, and use a syringe 
with cold water. This treatment will relieve piles. 

IiTervous Chills. — ^A jug of hot water, wrapped in a 
blanket, applied to the feet at night. 

Dyspepsia. — One teaspoonful of essence of cinnamon 
before each meal has been known to cure. Hard cider is 
also a valuable remedy. 

Coal Oil. — ^A surgeon in the army says that what water 
is to a wound in an inflamed state, coal oil is in a sup- 
purating state ; it dispels flies, expels vermin, sweetens 
the wound, and promotes a healthy granulation. It is 
also said to be a good exterminator of bed-bugs. 

Dysentery or Flux. — ^This disease requires different 
treatment from common diarrhea, and is easily distin- 
guished, as the passages are smaller and composed of 
mucous and blood. Small doses of calomel and opium, 
every three or four hours, as the case indicates, using at 
the same time injections of flax-seed or slippery elm water, 
cold, with from six to ten drops of laudanum added, ac- 
cording to age. At the same time apply to the bowels 



60 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

flannel cloths wrung from hot water, covering with dry 
cloths to keep in the heat and prevent the clothing from 
getting wet. To allay thirst, allow them to dissolve ice 
gradually in the mouth. No solid food should be eaten. 
Browned rice, well boiled, thickened milk, or farina eaten 
with cream and sugar, is the best food. 

The following recipe has been effectual in advanced and 
severe cases : 

Flux or Dysentery. — Take one ounce each of cara- 
way seed, orange peel and rhubarb, one pint brandy, 
shake well and let stand twelve hours. Dose for child two 
years old, one teaspoonful every two hours till relieved ; 
adult, dessert spoonful. 

Cure for Felon. — Take half a pint of common soft 
soap, and stir into it air slaked lime till it is of the 
consistency of putty ; make a muslin bag, fill it with this 
composition, and insert the finger, and a cure is certain. 
This is a domestic application that any house-keeper can 
apply promptly. 

The " Journal of Medicine'' gives the following remedy 
for felons : As soon as the parts begin to swell get the 
tincture of lobelia, and wrap the part affected with a cloth 
saturated thoroughly with the tincture, and the felon is 
dead. An old physician says he has known it to cure in 
scores of cases, and it never fails if applied in season. 
The remedy is easy of access, and the cost is trifling. Try 
it, ye sufferers. 

Small Pox. — To prevent the face from being marked, 
just before the eruption appears, rub three or four drops 
of croton oil on the chest ; this attracts the eruption, and 
prevents it from injuring the face and eyes. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 61 

Tapeworm. — ^Eat freely of slippery elm bark. Pumpkin 
seeds are saved and sold in Syria on account -of their 
value in exterminating all kinds of worms. 

Warts and Corns can be cured by making a salve of 
gum arable and potasb ; soak and pare them ; apply the 
salve several nights, and they will soon pull out. 

To Eemove Freckles. — Take powdered saltpetre and 
apply it to the parts affected, by the finger, moistened and 
fepped into the powder. This is the whole proceeding. 
When properly done and judiciously repeated, it will re- 
move all the freckles from the face. 

Nightmare can be much relieved by going to bed 
supperless, or by taking half a Dover's powder on going 
to bed, with a jug of hot water to the feet. 

Frosted Feet. — Bathe with spirits of turpentine be- 
fore the fire ; then rub with honey. 

Pile Salve. — Carbonate of lead, half ounce j sulphate 
of morphia, fifteen grains j stramonium ointment, one 
ounce; olive oil, twenty drops. Mix and apply three 
times a day, or as occasion and pain may require. 

Gympson Salve. — This is valuable for sores and burns. 
The leaves, when green, are the best application that can 
be made to old, angry sores, producing suppuration and 
restoring a healthy condition. The leaves should be rolled 
and thrown into scalding water, and squeezed out like 
cabbage leaves, for a blister. Put them on thick and 
change three times a day. 

To make the Salve. — Gather half a peck of leaves 
before frost, chop fine, add to this a pound of fresh lard, 



62 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

stew in an earthen crock, strain and put away for use. 
Throw the crock away. 

Elder-Blossom Sal ye. — Stew the flowers in butter 
before it has been salted. This is a delicate healing salve 
for the lips, nose or hands. 

Sore or Weak Eyes. — Pure salt and water is a good 
remedy in this disease, for men, women and animals. 

Miasma. — To prevent fevers and ague in miasmatic 
localities, build a fire in the common sitting room morn- 
ing and evening j also avoid going out to work before 
breakfast. 

Debility. — There is nothing better as a tonic than 
pure spirits made very bitter with chamomile flowers. 

BATHTNa. — ^There is nothing more invigorating than 
sponging the body every morning, on rising, summer and 
winter, with cold or tepid water, rubbing the body dry 
with a coarse towel. This will effectually prevent colds. 
Sponging the body with tepid salt water, and rubbing 
dry has been known to cure the dropsy, after tapping had 
failed. "No one should take a cold bath when very warm, 
or in the heat of the day. 

Fresh Air. — There is nothing more conducive to health 
than pure air and exercise. Food does not become nutri- 
tive until the lungs are filled with fresh air. Contagious 
diseases lose half their virulence by well cleaned and ven- 
tilated rooms. 

Children. — If you would have them healthy, give 
them plenty of clothing, plenty of milk, plenty of sleep, 
plenty of air and exercise } put them to bed early and let 
them wake themselves. Never urge them to eat what 
they don't relish. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 63 

BiTiNa THE ^AiLS. — Tliis habit in children should be 
broken up immediately, by dipping the fingers in a solu- 
tion of aloes, or some other disagreeable substance, as it 
spoils the nails and injures their health. 

Teeth. — Parents should see that their children's teeth 
are removed as soon as loose, to prevent their permanent 
teeth from coming in crooked. 

To Whiten the Teeth — Pure charcoal and honey 
whiten and preserve the teeth from decay, and purify 
the breath. «^ 

Inflammation of Throat and Lungs. — There is noth- 
ing more soothing than slippery elm water, sweetened 
with honey or white sugar. Add a small piece of ice and 
lemon. 

Night Sweats. — Drink cold sage tea, and rub the 
body with whisky and alum — an ounce to a quart. 

Hiccups. — This distressing, and sometimes dangerous, 
affection has been cured by taking occasionally a spoonful 
of vinegar with as much salt as it would dissolve. 



FOOD FOR^THE SICK. 

There is one thing that should never be forgotten by 
those who have charge of the sick, that life (and the hor- 
rible suffering of death by starvation) may be saved by 
injections of beef tea, rice soup, or thickened milk. This 
subject is too often overlooked by the medical faculty. 
Where there is swelling or paralysis of the throat, or in 
severe cases of diptheria, this should never be neglected. 
Stimulating applications to the stomach often afford great 
relief where there has been long fasting. 



64 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

Beef Tea. — Lean beef, sliced. Put a sufficient quan- 
tity into a porter-bottle to fill up its body, cork it loosely, 
and place it in a pot of cold water, attaching the neck by 
means of a string to the handle of the vessel. Boil this 
for an hour and a half or two hours j then i30ur off the 
liquor and skim it. 

;pANADA. — White bread, one ounce j ground cinnamon, 
one teaspoonful j water, one pint. Boil them until well 
mixed, and add a little sugar and nutmeg. Wine or but- 
ter may be added if desirable. 

Barley Water. — Pearl barley, two ounces 5 boiling 
water, two quarts. Boil to one half, and strain. A little 
lemon-juice and sugar may be added to give the beverage 
a pleasant flavor. To be freely taken in febrile disorders. 

Apple W^ater. — Cut two large apples in slices, and 
l)Our a quart of boiling water on them ; or, pour the same 
amount of water on roasted apples. In two or three hours 
strain, and sweeten slightly. 

Isinglass Jelly. — Isinglass, one roll. Boil in one 
pint of water until it is dissolved. Strain, and add one 
l)int of sweet milk. Put it again over the fire, and let it 
boil up. 

Toast. — Put a lump of butter in half a pint of cream, 
and a tablespoontul of white sugar 5 let it come to a boil ; 
toast two or three slices of dry bread, and pour the cream 
over it. If sweetening is not liked, omit the sugar. 

Baked Eice. — Take half a cup of rice well washed, 
add to this three pints of new or sweet milk, two table- 
spoonsful of sugar and a little nutmeg 5 put in a deep dish 
and set in the oven to bake, stirring occasionally until the 
rice is thoroughly cooked. Eat cold. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 65 

Eice browned thoroughly, without scorching, and then 
well boiled, and eaten with nutmeg and sugar, or cream 
and sugar, is a very palatable and safe food in case of 
bowel complaint, and is of itself a remedy. 

ToinATOES sliced in vinegar, with a little onion, pepper 
and salt, are often much relished by sick persons. 

Pickled Pork, parboiled and well broiled, is also palat- 
able to the sick. 

Farina, boiled in milk and eaten cold with sweetened 
cream, flavored with vanilla or lemon, is good for sick or 
well persons. 

Diet. — A change of diet is desirable for men and ani- 
mals, in order to give a relish to what they eat. Every 
house-keeper should vary her cooking as much as possible, 
as sameness destroys the appetite. Good living is as 
important for the growth of children as for animals ; and 
every farmer knows that animals starved when young 
seldom recover from it. Chemistry demonstrates that we 
should make our bread of unbolted flour, as the hull ot 
the wheat alone, furnishes phosphorous for the develop- 
ment of brain, and obviates the necessity of using cathar- 
tics. 

6 



ADDEI^DA. 



Marbled Cake. — For the white part, take ten eggs, 
one cup of butter, two cups white sugar, and one cup of 
milk, three cups of flour, one teaspoonful cream tartar 
mixed in the flour, a half teaspoonful soda dissolved in two 
tablespoon sful of warm water. For the dark part, the 
yolks of six eggs, one cup of butter, two cuj)s of brown 
sugar, one cup of molasses, two tablespoousful cinnamon, 
two tablespoousful of allspice, and two tablespoonsfal of 
cloves, one teasi30onful black pepper, one nutmeg, four 
cu|)S of flour, one teaspoonful cream tartar mixed in the 
flour, half teaspoonful soda dissolved in two tablespoous- 
ful of warm water. Beat each of these parts until thor- 
oughly mixed j then drop in your pan alternate spoons- 
ful of black and white in stripes or rings. Bake care- 
fully. 

Jelly Cake is made of any kind of cake, cup or sponge, 
baked very thin in pans of equal size, and jelly spread 
between them. You can add as many layers as you 
choose. 

Coffee Cake — yery fine. — Two cups of brown sugar, 
one of butter, four eggs, half a cup of molasses, one cup 
of strong cofl'ee; beat well together, then add half a 
pound of raisins, half a pound of currants, well washed 
and dried, one nutmeg, two teaspoonsful of cinnamon, 
two of cloves, one ounce of citron, cut fine; two large 
teaspoonsful of cream tartar, one large teasi)oonful soda, 
dissolved in half a cup of milk. Mix thoroughly — bake 
well, and you have a splendid rich cake. 



FAMILY DIRECTOEY. 67 

Floating Island. — Beat the yolks of six eggs with 
the juice of four lemons — sweeten to your taste ; stir into 
a quart of boiling milk ; then pour into a dish. Beat the 
whites of the eggs to a stiff froth and put on the top. 

To Preserve Strawberries. — This fruit is too ten- 
der to can and look well. The best way to keep them is 
to put three-quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of 
fruit. Weigh your fruit, then select all the larger berries 
from the smaller and imperfect ones — mash the small ber- 
ries and add the sugar. Let them boil half an hour, then 
squeeze through a jelly bag, then boil again, for a few 
minutes and take off the scum; then add the large ber- 
ries, being careful not to mash them. Let them boil 
slowly thirty minutes, skim out carefully and spread on 
a large, flat dish, pouring back all the juice ; then boil 
the syrup and skim till reduced to a thick syrup. Put in 
cans or glass jars heated — pour on the hot syrup and seal. 

Wheat Flour Blanc Mange. — Beat up six table- 
spoonsful to a thin paste, with cold milk, and stir it into 

* 

a pint of boiling milk. Flavor with lemon peel or peach 
leaves, boil in the milk ; add a pinch of salt, and cool it 
in a mould. 

Philadelphia Ice Cream. — Two quarts of milk (cream 
when you have it ; j three tablespoonsful of arrowroot, the 
whites of eight eggs well beaten, one pound of powdered 
sugar. Boil the milk, thicken it with the arrowroot, add 
the sugar and pour the whole ui)on the eggs. If you wish 
it flavored with vanilla, split half a bean, and boil it in 
the milk. 

Lemon Sherbet. — Dissolve two pounds of loaf sugar 
in half a gallon of water ; add the juice of ten lemons ; 
press the lemons so as to extract not only the juice but 



68 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

the oil of the rind, and let the skins remain a Trhile in 
the water and sugar ; strain through a sieve and freeze. 

French Eolls, or Twists. — One quart of luke-warHi 
milk, one teaspoonful of salt, a large teacup of home- 
made yeast, or half as much brewer's yeast, flour enough 
to make a stiff batter ; set it to rise, and when very light 
work in one egg and two tablespoonsful of butter. Add 
flour till stiff enough to roll. Let it rise again, and when 
very light, roll out, cut in strips and braid it. Bake 
thirty minutes on buttered tins. 

Sour Dough. — When a batch of bread is sour, let it 
stand until it is very light, then work into a portion of it 
saleratus dissolved in warm water, enough to sweeten it, 
and a little shortening, and mould it into small biscuits 
and bake. This is very good, and many persons allow 
their bread to turn sour for this pur^DOse. 

Boiled Indian Pudding. — Three pints of milk, ten 
heaping table spoonsful of sifted Indian meal, half a pint 
of molasses, two eggs ; scald the meal with the milk, add 
the molasses and a teaspoonful of salt. Put in the eggs 
when it is cool enough not to scald them. Put in a table- 
spoonful of ginger. Tie in a well-floured pudding-bag, 
allowing three inches room for the swelling of the pud- 
ding. Some like a little chopped suet added to the above. 
Boil from four to five hours. 

Loaf Pudding.— When bread is too stale to eat, put a 
loaf in a pudding bag and boil it in salted water an hour and 
a half, and eat it with pudding sauce. (No. 2, on page 10.) 

Pudding Bag. — K puddings are boiled in bags, they 
should be dipped in boiling water and rubbed over with 
flour while hot, before putting in the pudding. A better 
way is to have a tin bucket with a tight fitting lid, put- 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 69 

ting a cloth over the bucket before putting on the lid, to 
absorb the steam. 

BuRSTED Apple. — Take tart, tender apples, pare, core, 
and quarter, throw them in cold water. If nearly ready 
for tea, put a clean skillet with a lid on the fire, with a 
lump of butter the size of an egg ; let it get as hot as 
possible without scorching; lift the apples from the 
water quickly, and put on the lid ; let them remain on a 
moderate fire until done, stirring them occasionally. Take 
up and cover with sugar and grated nutmeg. 

Apples Whole. — Pare and take out the core with an 
apple corer ; fill the space with sugar and butter, adding 
a little nutmeg or cinnamon ; bake in an earthen dish. 
This is very nice for tea. 

Apple MerinGtUE.— Pare, core and stew 10 tart apples 
in a very little water ; season as for a pie, and put in a 
fruit pie dish, into a cool oven. Beat up, meanwhile, the 
whites of four eggs as you would for icing, piling it on 
the apple like rocks, or irregular, avoiding the edge of 
the dish. Return it to a warm oven, and brown macaroni 
color. Slip all out carefully, by aid of knife or spoon, 
into a China dish, and serve with cream, which, if you 
have not, make a custard of the yellows, flavored with 
essence of Vanilla, &c. 

Apple Pudding, in Crust. — One and a half pints 
stewed apples, one tea-cup rich cream, quarter pound but- 
ter, four eggs, nutmeg, grated lemon skin, sugar to taste. 
Put in the butter while the apples are hot, the remainder 
when cool. Dried apples will do. 

To Stew Pears. — Wash and leave them whole ; add 
just enough water to cook them tender; when nearly 
done, add sugar enough to make a rich syrup. 



70^ FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

Cranberry Sauce. — Pick over carefully, and wash ; 
add a very little water, and let them get half cooked be- 
fore putting in the sugar, which should be pound for 
pound. If wanted to take the place of preserves, put, 
while hot, in tea-cups or bowls. When needed, turn out 
on a jelly dish. 

Baked Custard. — Whites and yolks of five eggs, four 
tablespoonsful flour, one pint milk, salt j beat this light, 
then bake. 

Cinnamon Eolls. — rif you have some pastry left when 
making x)ies, take pieces the size of a walnut, roll out 
thin, and put a teasi^oonful of cinnamon, butter and sugar, 
well mixed, in the centre ; roll up and turn up the end 
slightly to keep the syrup from running out ; then bake 
a light brown. 

Cobblers are made of peaches, apples, or any kind of 
fruit, and are very nice. They are made by putting in 
twice as much fruit as for ordinary pies, the crust also a 
little thicker, adding a good sized lump of butter and 
plenty of sugar, spice to your taste, and bake in a deep 
dish, to keep from losing the juice. 

Boiled Rice. — Soak a few hours in salt and water, 
then boil or steam till thoroughly done. Eat with pud- 
ding sauce No. 2. Eice is not wholesome unless well 
cooked. 

Arrowroot for Children. — A teaspoonful added 
to a pint of milk, is of great value when children are 
raised by hand. It will often check diarrhea. Soften 
the arrowroot with a little water, and stir into the milk 
when boiling. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 71 

Blackberry Syrup. — The follo\Ying is the recipe for 
makiug the famous blackberry syrup. !N"o family should 
be Nvithout it. All who try it will find it a sovereign 
remedy for bowel complaints : "To two quarts blackber- 
ry juice add half ounce each of powdered nutmeg, cinna- 
mon and allspice, and quarter ounce powdered cloves. 
Boil these together to get the strength of the spices, and 
to preserve the berry juice. While hot, add a pint of 
fourth proof pure French brandy, and sweeten with loaf 
sugar. Give a child two teaspoonsful three times a day, 
and if the disorder is not checked, add to the quantity." 

Omelet. — Breiik eight or ten eggs into a pan; add 
pepper, salt, and one spoonful cold water ; beat them up 
to a stiff froth ; meanwhile, put some butter in a frying- 
pan, and when it nearly boils put in the eggs. As it 
fries, take up the edges, that all may be properly done. 
When cooked, double it ; serve hot. 

Codfish Balls. — Pick up as fine as possible a tea- 
cup of nice white codfish. Freshen all night, or if want- 
ed for any other meal than breakfast, from the morning ; 
scald it once, and drain off the water ; chop and work it 
until entirely fine ; put it in a basin with water, a bit of 
butter the size of an egg, and two eggs ; beat it thorough- 
ly, and heat it until it thickens, without boiling. It should, 
when all is mixed, be about a quart. Have some potatoes 
ready j)repared and nicely mashed; work the fish and 
potatoes thoroughly together as above, make it in flat 
cakes, and brown both sides. This is a very nice dish, 
as all who have tried it allow. 

Sandwiches. — Spread nice butter over a loaf of fresh 
bread, then cut it with a sharp knife very thin indeed ; 
cut a slice of ham or dried beef, put it in the middle, roll 



72 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

the bread over it, and send to tlie tea-table. These are 
delicate and convenient for lunch or a pic-nic. 

To Fry Fresh Fish.— They should never be cooked 
until well salted for several hours — better over night. 
When read}' to cook, wash well and wipe dry ; pepper 
and roll in flour or corn meal; have i)lenty of hot fat; 
fry slowly a dark brown. Fish should be thoroughly 
cooked. 

Fish to Boil. — Prepare as for frying; stuff according 
to directions given for stuffing ; scav up carefully in a 
cloth ; boil from half to three quarters of an hour, accord- 
ing to size, adding salt to the water if not previously well 
salted. Dress with hard boiled eggs, sliced in drawn 
butter, or celery sauce. 

Baked Fish. — Prepare as for frying ; stuff as for boil- 
ing ; put a tablespoonful of lard in the pan, flour your 
fish and bake moderately for three-quarters of an hour. 
Eat with drawn butter flavored with parsley. 

Salt Fish. — Wash well ; then soak several hours in 
fresh water — if not liked very salt, soak over night. 
Mackerel soaked over night, then hung up to dry a few 
hours and -broiled, and dressed with melted butter, is 
very nice. 

Smoked Halibut, sliced like dried beef is very nice 
for tea, breakfast or lunch. 

To Stew Chicken. — Cut in small pieces, chopping 
the breast in two ; add just enough water to cook tender 
— add pepper, salt, and a lump of butter. When nearly 
dry, make into a smooth paste a large tablespoonful of 
flour, stirred into a tea-cup of cream or milk, adding a 
few sprigs of parsley. 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 73 

To Fry Chicken. — If your chickens are not very ten- 
der, stew in a small quantity of water twenty minutes, 
adding salt and pepper ; when about dry, take up your 
chicken and roll it in flour, then put a cup of butter or 
lard on a shallow pan and let it get hot ; then put in your 
floured chicken, turn and brown nicely. When ready to 
serve, take up the chicken, dredge a little flour in the 
pan, adding a cup of milk or cream. Let it simmer a 
few minutes and take up in a gravy bowl. 

To Cook Liver. — Slice half an inch thick ; wash and 
throw into scalding water a few moments ; drain, add 
pepper and salt and roll in flour ; have a pan ready with 
hot lard; fry slowly till well done, and brown; if liked 
with gravy, add a little milk and flour. 

To Stew a Beef Heart. — Cut in thin slices across 
the grain — add just enough water to cook done, wi.th half 
a dozen sliced onions, salt, pepper, and butter to season 
well. Let it get nearly dry, so that it will brown a little 
in the gravy. Mutton, pork or veal chops are very nice 
cooked in this way. 

Oyster Sauce. — Add a dozen oysters and a large 
lump of butter to a quart of boiling water, and a few 
slices of choj)ped celery ,* make into a smooth i)aste, two 
tablespoonsful of flour ; add this to half a pint of cream, 
stir in and simmer twenty minutes. 

To Make and Fry Mush. — Take one gallon of boiling 
water and a wooden spoon or stick, stir a handful of meal 
at a time into it, with two tablespoonsful of salt, beating 
out all the lumps. Mush to fry should be made quite 
stiff; boil over a slow fire for an hour. When thorough- 
ly cold, cut in slices half an inch thick, and fry brown in 
a few spoonsful of sweet lard. Serve hot. 



74 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

Potatoes to Fry. — Slice potatoes, either cooked or 
uncooked, very thin ; put a lump of butter, or fresh lard 
into a hot skillet ; if the potatoes are uncooked, let the 
fat get quite hot ; lift the potatoes from clean water ; add 
salt and pepper, and cover quickly with a lid 5 stir and 
cook till well done. If the potatoes are cooked, add a 
cup of milk or cream. Serve hot. 

]\Iashed Potatoes. — Pare and boil tender, with salt 
epough to season them j when done, pour off the water. 
Add a lump of butter, mash well, then add a cup of cream 

well stirred through. 

i 

Bakino or Boiling Potatoes. — Their quality de- 
pends greatly upon not being over cooked. In boiling, 
they should be taken from the water as soon as they can 
be penetrated by a fork 5 steam dry. 

Drawn Butter. — Stir two teaspoonsful of flour into 
a quarter of a pound of butter ; add five tablespoonsful 
of cold water, set it into boiling water and let it melt 
until it begins to simmer, and it is done. Be careful to 
have the flour well mashed in the butter. This is a nice 
dressing for fish, with hard eggs chopped fine, in it. It 
is also fine for boiled fowls. 

Parsley gives a fine flavor to soups, stewed chicken, 
or hashed in gravy for steaks or fish. 

Celery Sauce. — Take a large bunch of celery, cut it 
fine, and boil it till soft, in a pint of water ; thicken it 
with butter and flour, and season it with salt, pepper and 
mace. 

Stuffing or Dressing. — Stuffing for poultry is made 
of bread and butter, an egg, salt, pepper, chopped parsley 
or thyme, mixed together; if the bread is dry, it should 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 75 

have a little boiling water poured on it. This dressing is 
suitable for fowls, fish, veal or lamb, varying the season- 
ing to suit the taste. 

Piccalilli, or Mixed Pickle. — Take anything that 
can be jDickled, such as onions, sliced cucumbers, cab- 
bage, mangoes, peppers, squashes, small green tomatoes, 
cauliflowers, martenoes, celery, green beans, nasturtiums, 
radish-pods, watermelon rinds, small green cucumbers, 
and Chili peppers. Lay them in salt and water, with 
enough turmeric to turn them yellow. Let them stand 
twenty -four hours, stirring frequently; then drain and 
dry them, and put them into the jars. To every quart of 
vinegar, allow a tablespoonful of mustard- seed, one of 
turmeric, a handful of whole black pepper, and one clove 
of garlic. Spice to your taste with mace, ginger, cloves, 
red pepper, and horseradish. Boil all but the mustard- 
seed in a bag in the vinegar. Let the vinegar stand till 
cold. Boil one dozen eggs quite hard ; mash them in 
enough sweet oil to make a paste; then stir it in the 
vinegar, which pour over the pickles. Put one handful 
of salt in every jar. They should stand three days, well 
tied up, when they will be fit for use. 

Pepper Sauce. — Take twenty-five peppers without 
seeds ; cut them pretty fine ; then take more than double 
the quantity of cabbage, cut like slaw ; one root horse- 
radish grated, one handful of salt, a heaping tablespoon- 
ful each of mustard-seed, ground cloves and allspice. 
Boil enough vinegar to cover it, and pour over boiling 
hot, mixing it well through. 

Universal Picexe. — To three quarts of vinegar, half 
a pound of salt, one-eighth pound of ginger, half an ounce 
of mace, one teaspoonful of Cayenne pepper, one ounce of 



76 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

mustard seed 5 boil these witli the vinegar, and when cold 
put into a jar. You may put in whatever green fruit or 
vegetables you choose, from time to time. 

EaG OR Plum Tomatoes. — To one gallon jar take two 
tablespoonfuls salt, one black pepper (whole), one cloves 
do., one of mustard, one red pepper the size of an egg ; 
mix these together and sprinkle over them, layer by layer, 
in the jars ; let them stand three or four days, and then 
pour over boiling vinegar. 

To Pickle Green Tomatoes.-^ Slice one peck of 
green tomatoes ; take one gallon of vinegar, six table- 
spoonfuls of whole cloves, four of allspice, two of salt, 
one of mace, one of Cayenne pepper j boil the vinegar 
and spices ten minutes ; put in the tomatoes and boil all 
together a quarter of an hour longer ; when cold, put in 
jars. There is no nicer pickle. 

To Keep Apples and Pears. — Put them in air-tight 
vessels, and place them in the cellar in a temperature be- 
tween 32 and 40. In this way, says the " Horticulturist," 
these fruits may be preserved, in perfect order for eating, 
all winter. 

Another ^Yay. — Wrapping each apple or pear in paper, 
answers well also. 

Sweet Potatoes. — These are the greatest luxury in 
the way of vegetables our tables can offer in winter. En- 
gage a gardener, in whom you have confidence, to bring 
them at the proper time in a proper state. Let them be 
put in the garret of a house which has a furnace, in bar- 
rels or boxes ; let them be uncovered for several days, 
with a circulation of air constantly kept up. At. the end 
of four or five days cover them with newspapers, if the 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 77 

boxes have no covers. I find the temperature best 
adapted to them is 60. We have them till they come 
again. 

Straw-MattinGt may be cleaned with a large coarse 
cloth dipped in salt and water, and then wiped dry 5 the 
salt prevents the matting from turning yellow. 

Silver and Plated Ware should be washed with 
a sponge and warm soapsuds every day after using, and 
wiped dry with a clean soft towel. 

• Fainting. — Keep the head low — apply camphor or 
volatile salts to the nose ; sprinkle water in the face. 
Give a little brandy and water. . ' 

Croup. — Wring a linen cloth — cotton will do, but linen 
is preferable — out of cold water, fold it so as to make 
several thicknesses, and place it upon the child's throat 
and chest, then fold a dry flannel and wrap carefully over 
it. Warm the child's feet — with hot stones if necessary 
— and cover with plenty of bed clothes and let it go to 
sleep ; you cannot i)erceive when it wakes that it has 
even a cold. It acts like a charm. 

Bug Poison. — Proof spirit one pint, camphor two 
ounces, oil of turpentine four ounces, corrosive sublimate 
one ounce ; mix. 

To Eemove Marks from a Table. — K a whitish 
mark is left on a table. by carelessly setting on a pitcher 
of boiling water or hot dish, pour some lamp oil on the 
spot, and rub it hard with a soft cloth 5 then pour on a 
little spirits of wine or cologne water, and rub it dry with 
another cloth. The white mark will thus disappear, and 
the table look as well as ever. 



78 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

Ink Stains. — Oxalic acid, or iodide of potassium will 
remove them. Wash immediately to prevent rotting the 
goods. 

To Keep Hams in Summer. — Take down in the spring 
before flifes appear ; wrap in thick brown paper ; put in 
boxes or barrels in a cool, dry place, or hang up in a 
dark, airy cellar. Watch out for rats. 

To Eenovate Black Silk. — Sponge on the right 
side with warm soapsuds and a soft black cloth, and iron 
on the wrong side while damp. 

To Eestore Yelyet. — Hold the wrong side over boil- 
ing water till the nap rises, then turn a hot iron upside 
down and draw the wrong side over till perfectly dry 
and smooth. 

Ceiment for the Tops of Bottles or Jars. — Take 
equal parts of rosin and brick-dust pounded fine, a lump 
of beeswax. Stew them together, and keep in an old tin, 
melting it when you want to seal your bottles or jars. 

To Stop Cracks in Iron Vessels. — Mix wood ashes 
and salt into a paste, with a little water j apply them, 
whether the vessels are cold or hot. 

Cement. — Three parts ashes, three parts clay, and one 
part sand, is said to make a cement as hard as marble, 
and impervious to water. 

EcoNOi^ncAL Paint. — Skim milk two quarts, fresh 
slacked lime eight ounces, linseed oil six ounces, white 
Burgundy pitch two ounces, Spanish white three pounds. 
The lime to be slacked in water, exposed to the air, mix- 
i ed in one-fourth of the milk ; the oil in which the pitch 
is previously dissolved, to be added a little at a time 5 



FAMILY DIRECTORY. 79 

then the rest of the milk, and afterwards the Spanish 
white. This quantity is sufficient for 27 square yards, 
two coats, and the expense not more than 25 cents. 

PAiNTma A EooM. — Get a painter to mix the quantity 
of paint required. Have the surface you intend painting 
thoroughly cleansed from grease or spots j stir the paint 
well, and you can proceed. There is very little labor in 
this, and often may be done to advantage by a woman. 
If much of a job is undertaken, it is needful to have oil 
and turpentine added. 

Hair Eene^ver. — Everybody should know that the 
best thing yet discovered for restoring gray hair to its 
original color, rendering it soft and pliable, is Hall's 
Sicilian Vegetable Hair Eenewer. 

Beds and Bedding. — I have seen families who seem 
to have most of the comforts of life, who had meager, 
sunken, uncomfortable beds. If straw was expensive it 
might be excused. Any kind of a tick, if clean, weU 
filled with good oat straw, makes a good bed for summer, 
and a fine foundation for a feather bed in winter. Many 
families are scant of bed-clothing because the;y sit idle 
and say it don't pay to piece up old calico into comforts ; 
while the good housewife does it, and finds these old com- 
forts lasting six or eight years. 

Directions about Coloring. — ^Always use clean por- 
celain, tin, brass or copper kettles ; goods always appear 
darker when wet. Hold up to the light and look through 
them. That will generally give you the true color. To 
be certain, you had better dry a snjall piece with a hot 
iron. Always try a* small piece of the same goods before 
you put in your garment. Have plenty of water to stir 



80 FAMILY DIRECTORY. 

your goods in, as that will not affect the color. The 
goods will absorb all the dye if left in long enough. 
ISTever have your kettle over a very hot fire. No goods 
should be boiled hard ; lift and stir often with a smooth 
stick. Cotton goods will not color any shade of red well. 
Yellow, orange, brown and black are best for cottons — 
using the following preparation for all excepting that 
colored with annatto, which does not need any prepara- 
tion. 

To Prepare Cotton Goods for Coloring.— Take 
a handful of slacked lime, add this to two or three pails- 
ful of water, stir, put in the goods, handle occasionally, 
and in about two hours take out the goods, pour off the 
clear liquor from the lime into another vessel, add to 
this clear liquor two quarts of milk (if for a Ml dress), 
put back the goods into this lime water and milk, heat 
to hand heat, handle the goods in this one half hour, 
take off the fire, and let the goods steep in this one night, 
or four or five hours during the day, handling occasion- 
ally J take out, rinse lightly, hang up to dry, and when 
dry they are ready to dye. 

How TO HAVE Good Servants. — K you want attach- 
ed servants, be an attached mistress. Let your thought- 
fulness show itself in little things. Speak courteously, 
not curtly. Spare them trouble, and thank them for the 
courtesy they show to you. Be considerate, but not in- 
trusive. Recognize the fact that servants must have in- 
terests of their own, some occupation which affords a 
relief from the constant strain of service j and do not 
pry too closely into their concerns, or arrange too mi- 
nutely the order in which they are to get through their 
business. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 





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